Harry Potter and the Not So Fairy Godmother
by mountainrivergirl
Summary: After Lily and James died and the love of Anna's life was hauled off to Azkaban without a trial, she made a decision. Her responsibility and loyalty was to Harry and she would do for him as much as she possibly could. What happens now that Voldemort has returned and she must reveal her true identity? AU from OOTP.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **This is my first fanfiction, so please be kind!

_Disclaimer: I don't own or profit from anything to do with Harry Potter._

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"Oof!" Anna huffed as she hauled the bulging suitcase inside her cottage. She used to wish she could levitate heavy items, but after 14 years of living undercover as a muggle, she had gotten rather used to the charade, at least outside of her home. Of course, the fact that the muggles couldn't even see the cottage due to the charm rendered this feat moot, but at this point it was habit.

_Home sweet home_, she thought, with a touch of bitterness. Although this had technically been her home for the past fourteen years, she knew she would never really be at home ever again until she could be reunited with Sirius. After he had escaped, she had hoped…but of course, it would be dangerous for him to come here while Harry was nearby, as the Ministry and Dumbledore were surely keeping at least a loose eye out (too loose at times in her opinion). Sirius wouldn't know to look for her here, especially under the fidelius charm anyway.

Anna had been searching for nearly three years now, trying to guess where he may have hidden. She didn't believe he would really be anywhere in the world—he would want to stay nearby, be reachable for Harry's sake. But if he wanted to be hidden, he would stay hidden, just as she had. She had intentionally left tracks, though, and if he had left any, she couldn't find them. And of course, her tracks had been left for Remus, with clues only he could decipher. About ten years in, Anna had stopped hoping that he would come after her.

"For Harry" had been her mantra—and it had been easy to put him first because she loved him like her own. She had to find him now, tell him, warn him, whatever she could do. Things were changing. It felt like before, and she could read the signs even without her magical contacts in the world. He had too much of a habit of wandering around the area. Of course, she would have to explain, and she was terrified of losing his trust. She only hoped he would have enough affection left for his old "teacher" to hear her out about everything. They didn't have a lot of time to lose.

Anna took off to look for Harry without even unpacking. She had felt restless for the past few months. It was almost as if the wind had shifted and there was a disturbance in the atmosphere. The sun was starting to set as she turned left toward the park. She slowed when she saw a group of teenage boys up ahead.

It was a real shame, Anna mused, that she couldn't just haul them into detention as she used to, teach those bullies a lesson. Of course, if she really needed to, she could probably put the fear of God into them, she mused. She stepped forward about to do so, and she realized there was another boy, lagging behind them. It was Harry! None of the boys had noticed her yet, and Dudley's gang—Merlin, was that Dudley?! He was certainly still large, but where he had all the blubber before, he now had muscle. The fat was still there, but Petunia must have done something right, for a change. That was certainly noteworthy. She hung back, still in the shadows for the moment.

Pieces of the conversation floated back to her, and she was rather concerned for both Harry's safety as well as his sanity, as she realized that he was taunting Dudley. The words "Diddykins", "night…pillows?" She watched as his face paled and he yelled at Dudley about something she couldn't understand, and then, she noted with alarm, that he was about to pull his wand out. She started walking toward the boys quickly, reaching for her upper arm, where her wand was hidden inside a holster, in case she needed to disarm him.

Goosebumps suddenly covered her arms and she wondered at that. It had been miserably hot for weeks now, so that was not just unusual but impossible. The chill ran down to Anna's core as she felt the panic before processing the cause. As she realized what was happening, she wrenched her wand from its holster with a trembling hand as she tried not to panic, already sprinting toward the boys.

Harry was attempting to grab his wand as he struggled with Dudley, but she didn't think there was any way he could protect himself, anyway. She was starting to hear it and she wanted to get close enough to cast before the memory overtook her and she was no longer able.

_ She saw the jeer on the traitor's face as he told her Sirius had left for Godric's Hollow. A shard of icy fear pierced her heart and she turned on the spot, terrified of what she would see. The house was destroyed and her heart shattered into icy pieces. James, Lily and Harry…Harry!_

She came back to the present with a jolt, although the memories were pressing in, she willfully forced them away. Dudley had run toward one dementor, while Harry was aiming his wand at the other "Expect...expecto…patronum" he muttered weakly. "Not Harry," she muttered as she ran, almost there now. "No, not Harry!"

* * *

The dementor drew closer, and Harry could feel the familiar icy sensation seeping over him. There was a rushing sound in his ears and then he heard the familiar scream of "No, not Harry!"

It sounded…different this time...he had never noticed the pounding of feet, as though someone were running across pavement. Shaking his head, he tried to get hold of himself. _Don't think about that, think of something happy! _He raised his wand and thought of Ron and Hermione, and started to form the words-but before he could, he heard something from behind him.

"Expecto Patronum!"


	2. Two Months Earlier

Author's Note: Thank you for all the follows and reviews already. Please read and review! Thank you!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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_Two Months Earlier_

The friends were sitting at the table, emotionally exhausted after discussing the events of Harry's third task. Remus was holding his head in his hands while Sirius stared somberly at the table.

"Okay, then. We'll just…have to be ready."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius sighed. "I just…never wanted him to have to face this. We wanted better for him."

Several minutes passed, each man lost in his own thoughts. Sirius cleared his throat, shaking Remus from his stupor.

"Moony, I have to ask you something. What…what happened to Anna?"

Remus froze. He had hoped Dumbledore had already discussed Anna with Sirius, because he had dreaded this conversation ever since the night Sirius was proven innocent. He closed his eyes in defeat. His friendship with Sirius would be over now, and he had only just gotten it back.

"Remus, please. Just tell me. I deserve to know what happened!" Sirius was wild-eyed, clearly picturing the terrible things that the Death Eaters could have done to his girlfriend. Remus had to tell him, even though it put him in a bad light—the truth of Anna's departure from the Wizarding World would at least give him some hope that she was somewhere out in the world, alive and well.

Remus tugged wildly at his hair as if he had to physically pull the words out of himself. "We don't know where she is. A couple of months after it happened, she left. Or, to be completely truthful, we drove her away. Dumbledore and I."

Sirius was staring at Remus, seemingly calm, but Remus knew him well enough to know that this gaze meant he was barely keeping his fury at bay because of his desperation to know.

"Look, Sirius, this is never going to be easy to talk about. I will never forgive myself for not believing in you, in either of you. Just promise me that you'll let me tell the whole thing, without interrupting. Please, I think it's the only way I can get through it."

Sirius nodded, without saying anything, his teeth clenched. He was bouncing his leg repeatedly.

Lupin took a deep breath and began, "After you were sent to Azkaban, Anna tried everything to get you out. She was the only one who guessed the actual story. Immediately, she knew exactly what had happened. You knew that she had suspected Peter all along?" At Sirius' nod, Remus continued. "She went to the ministry and demanded that they give you a trial, or at least question you under veritaserum, to no avail. Crouch wouldn't hear of it, and everyone was so fired up against anything that even suggested the possibility of Voldemort's involvement that no one would support her. "

"The worst part was that, with how things looked…everyone thought…"

"Remus!"

"Okay, okay! This is just very painful for me." Remus exhaled loudly. "Crouch's belief was that she was an accomplice, that somehow you had seduced her into betraying the Order as well as James and Lily. That speculation was published in the Prophet, and some in the community believed it. The majority didn't believe that was the case, knowing her family history, and even most of the Ministry thought that Crouch was taking it too far. Dumbledore stepped in when Crouch tried to take her into custody. Even though the public didn't believe her version of events, there was no way Crouch could have brought charges against her. If he had, the public sentiment toward him would have completely shifted since Dumbledore had so much popular support already and it would have led to open war between them. So instead, Crouch had to discredit her."

The telling was getting easier now that Remus was lost in his memories. He hadn't believed Anna either at the time, but he had felt that he had to protect her in her fragile state. They had been cut down from a solid group of six friends—family-who had been fighting a righteous, but losing, battle to just two in the matter of one night. Just the remembrance of that heavy grief caused his shoulders to hunch under the weight.

"The ministry came to the conclusion that there were two options. The first was that Anna had been hoodwinked by you. That she had fallen so crazy in love with you that she couldn't read the signs and that you used her loyalty to gain information that you could pass to Voldemort. That part, of course, was rubbish anyway, since you were in the Order, and James' best friend."

He received a short curt nod and decided to continue.

"The other conclusion was that she was so shocked by the grief at losing James and Lily, combined with your betrayal and the loss of her 'dear friend, the hero, Peter Pettigrew'," Remus spat out with venom, "that she lost her sanity. They even brought in some specialist from St. Rene, the magical hospital in Paris, to testify that a shock, combined with the previous times she had been under the Cruciatus curse, had sent her into a psychotic state to protect her from the emotional pain. Almost everyone believed it."

Looking back, Remus could see how stupid it was, and he was ashamed for not seeing the truth, even though he knew no one would blame him for not thinking clearly at the time. The suggestion that strong, self-sufficient Anna had lost her mind because of a man was crazy in and of itself. Even when she was thirteen and had been tortured after watching her parents die in front of her, she grieved, but then used the pain to fuel her fight against Voldemort. It had been one of the first things that had drawn Remus to her as a friend that she still had such pluck and courage in spite of everything she had been forced to endure. It was a trait she and Harry shared, and from everything he had seen, made them both all the more lovable to those who truly got to know them.

"I take it you thought she was mad?" Sirius looked him in the eyes directly for the first time since Remus began his tale. Remus' own thoughts of the ridiculousness of the story were reflected back at him, but he was relieved to see a lack of hatred in Sirius' eyes, at least for the moment.

He sighed, "Well, I don't know. Not really. I thought she was kind of…mad with grief, not actually insane. I thought if she just got some temporary help, she would be alright."

"Well, anyway, after I tried to talk her into going to St. Mungo's, she sort of turned around. She decided that she would quietly look for a way to exonerate you. Instead, she decided that her responsibility was to Harry. She said that's what you would have wanted her to focus on. So, she went to Dumbledore. And…I guess you know how that turned out. He refused her. So, she came to me."

The guilt that washed over him felt like it would freeze his insides.

"The plan was that we would go far away. She knew that Harry couldn't grow up in wizarding Britain, because no one would help her here. She figured we could go live somewhere else, in the States, or South America somewhere in the middle of the jungle. I didn't want to go against Dumbledore, Sirius. It's my fault that Harry has grown up the way he has."

"No," Sirius broke the silence that followed, "Harry was my responsibility. If I had gone to Dumbledore, to you, before chasing off after Wormtail for revenge, I might have been able to convince them I was innocent." He shook his head as if that would shake off his regrets.

"I think," he continued "we're never really going to stop feeling guilty. But we're just going to have to do everything we can for Harry from here on out."

Remus' head drooped, and he nodded halfheartedly.

"So, obviously, you turned Anna down."

Remus nodded. "And then she left. Just told me she had responsibilities, and she intended to take care of them, whether or not I was willing to. "

Sirius looked at him skeptically. "You let her leave, just like that? That doesn't sound like you."

Remus grimaced. "Not exactly. She didn't tell me she was leaving until I was under the full-body bind curse."

"That's my girl," Sirius' face quirked into a weird cross between a grin and a sympathetic grimace, "er, sorry."

A few minutes passed by as they both sat there, deep in thought, before Sirius spoke.

"So, Moony, what do you think our first step toward kicking Voldemort's ass should be?

Remus smiled, knowing that he was forgiven.

* * *

_One week later_

Sirius was pacing around Remus' living room, muttering to himself. "Old coot, doesn't understand…MY godson…Dursleys…Lily and James would never allow..." He kicked a faded plaid ottoman as he passed it by, and slapped the back of an armchair in frustration.

Remus set the tea down on the coffee table, turned abruptly, and shoved Sirius onto the couch.

"Moony! What the hell?!" Sirius gestured wildly and made to stand up again, so Remus reached out, ready to shove him down again.

Remus smiled back, "It's not my furniture's fault, so sit down before you break something. Stay there and complain to me about it instead of whining to yourself. All this muttering makes you seem a lot madder than you truly are. It won't do anything to help your image."

Sirius glared back at him, "My 'image' is that I'm a mad mass murderer, so I don't think mutterer is really that big of a deal to add to my list of issues. And anyway, I always talk to myself. I did it back in school. It's got nothing to do with Azkaban."

Remus smirked, "I never claimed it did. I also never claimed you were sane before you went to Azkaban either."

Sirius half-smiled back at him, "Yeah, well, neither did I. Anyway, why did you attack me?"

"We need to talk about Harry. I thought it would help if we talk to each other, rather than you just pacing around talking to yourself."

Sirius sighed. "What is there to say, Moony? That I'm worried about him? He sounds miserable. Not just miserable because of his relatives, either, he seems downright depressed. And I can't do a bloody thing about it, because the _Headmaster_ won't let me. It's utterly ridiculous the way everyone kowtows to him. Including me, because apparently I can't do anything on my own."

"Padfoot, you know that there are too many risks for you to go charging over there and dragging Harry out of the house. Not the least of which is that your picture was on their news, and Petunia is sure to call the muggle policemen, which means the Ministry would catch you. Harry wouldn't thank you for that and—"

Sirius cut him off impatiently, "I know, I know, and I also know that he would blame himself, just like with everything else. That doesn't stop me from wanting to do something—anything—to help him out. He can't just stay locked away there." As he thought of being locked up, he sank back against the cushions in defeat and shuddered. The thought of what was awaiting him at Grimmauld Place once the enchantments were worked out by Dumbledore and Moody made him feel like he was being dragged through the halls of Azkaban on his way to his cell.

Remus gave him an annoyingly knowing look and cleared his throat. "I have news about that. I asked Dumbledore to let him come here."

Sirius was quite surprised, "Here? Really? But he said he had to stay there for at least most of the summer due to the damn blood wards. If it's that easy for him to just leave, why can't he just stay with us all the time?"

Remus cut in before Sirius could get too excited, "Only for a day. He has to go back, but he agreed that Harry can't just be left by himself without any contact, especially after what he went through. It was like pulling teeth just to get that much."

"Pulling teeth? Why would anybody pull OUT their teeth?"

Remus smirked, "Ah, forgot, you're an ignorant pureblood. Muggle dentists—teeth healers—have to do it when people have toothaches or rotten teeth."

"But that's barbaric! There has to be some kind of muggle potion…"

"Why don't you take that up with Hermione in a couple weeks? Her parents are dentists. Anyway, about Harry. We need to talk to him, Sirius. I heard some things when I was teaching there."

"Things like what?"

"Well, the other teachers were always very vague about it, that's what makes me suspicious. They said he gets up to all sorts of rule-breaking, but that it wasn't like our kind of rule-breaking, that it was not for fun as much as it was dangerous. When I asked McGonagall to explain, she got all nervous and wouldn't tell me anything."

"McGonagall got nervous?" Sirius couldn't remember a time the staid professor was anything but in control of herself.

Remus nodded and met Sirius' eyes with a dark look, "Exactly."

Sirius shook his head, still puzzling over what it could mean. "When is Harry coming? Does he know yet?"

"No, Dumbledore was thinking you would want to write him."

"Well, at least he's right about one thing. Okay, I'll just write him and I'll make sure he understands. He's not going to love that it's only for a day. I guess I also need to…warn him that we want to talk? How exactly do I do that without making it sound like he's in trouble? Remus, I am out of my depth with this whole godparent thing."

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, I don't know anything more about parenting a teenager than you do."

"Okay, so…we talk to Harry when he comes? I don't think he's going to respond to a full-fledged inquiry."

Remus nodded, "You're right about that. And we don't want to give him the third degree, anyway."

"No, I want him to be comfortable enough to share with us, but he won't be if he thinks we might get angry with him. Harry doesn't know how we'll respond to what he says, so that might make him leery. I know he'd love to hear more about his parents, too, and I don't want to rob him of that chance. Why don't we just ask him to tell us about his life before I escaped and we can tell him about ours?"

Remus thought for a moment and nodded, but he was clearly hesitating.

"Moony, you don't have to tell him anything you don't want to."

"It's not that. I was just wondering if you were going to tell him about…about her."

Sirius slumped as he felt a sharp pang in his heart. He understood Remus' avoidance of her name. The wound of Lily and James's deaths was still painful, but it had mostly faded to scars, albeit large, ugly angry ones. But that pain was mostly clean, because at least he knew what had happened to them and where they were. This slow torture, wondering where Anna was, if she was okay, if she was looking for him or hiding from him, if the Death Eaters had found her somehow and…it was a festering wound.

Everywhere he had been since his escape, he had looked for her. He had tried sending numerous owls to her, but his letters always came back unopened. Remus wouldn't even try anymore. Sirius glanced up at his friend, and couldn't miss the look of guilt on his face.

"You've got to stop blaming yourself for her leaving, Remus."

"I don't blame myself for her leaving, not really, because she was going to leave either way. But I do blame myself for not going with her. For not believing her or in your innocence. I should have known you would never have betrayed them."

"Remus, I should have known you wouldn't either. If I hadn't been fighting with her about that, we might have been together that night, and Harry would have been with us instead of the Dursleys."

"The thing is, Sirius, maybe that wouldn't have happened at all. Something worse might have happened. Maybe we would have found out Peter and stopped that night from happening, but maybe we all would have been killed, and Harry would have no one at all or he might not have even survived. You and I both, we have to stop second guessing ourselves. What's done is done and we have to take what's here and now and deal with it, or we'll both go insane."

Sirius nodded curtly. He wanted to rail that that was easier said than done, but knew that was unfair. The past fourteen years had certainly taken their toll on the werewolf, too.

"Yes, I suppose I will tell him about Anna, if it comes up. Harry deserves to know about his family, about everyone who loves him and has loved him. I just wish we had something concrete to tell. I still feel like there's some piece we're missing. I know she wouldn't go without leaving some clue as to her whereabouts, unless she didn't get a choice." Sirius shook his long hair.

"She said she would leave me a clue, actually, in case I ever changed my mind, but I never found anything. I tore apart all of our homes, looked in every one of my books as well as hers, for a note, map, anything. I even contacted the magical authorities in most every other country for lists of immigrants, to search for any name that sounded like an alias she would use. I'm not stupid enough to think she would use her real surname."

Sirius snorted and rolled his eyes, "Obviously, Moony. She's brilliant, and even an idiot Death Eater would know to avoid that. I bet she's not even under a name any of her friends would be easy to recognize. I think the clue has to be specific to you—otherwise, it might mean Pe—the traitor could find her."

"Well, I'll keep looking. Just let me know if you have any suggestions. Now that the entire Order is going to know about your innocence, we can include all of them in the search. If the news gets out about Voldemort, she's going to come back anyway."

Sirius nodded at Moony, grateful for the small bit of hope he was offering, and they moved on to talk of Harry and Dumbledore's plans for the Order.


	3. Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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Sirius was pacing again, although this time it was in anticipation of his godson's arrival. Remus and Moody had gone to retrieve Harry from the Dursleys' home, apparently much to the muggles' dismay. What he wouldn't give to be there to see Harry's relatives deal with Mad-Eye…

A flash of silver shot across the room and came to a stop in front of him. Remus's wolf patronus spoke, "Retrieval successful, arriving with package in tow in two minutes."

A smirk stretched across his face as Sirius rolled his eyes at the needless use of code, since the patronus wouldn't deliver the message to an imposter. He was sure Moody had dictated the memo to Remus.

The wizard ran across to the small kitchen and stood in the doorway. He wanted to stand right in front of the fireplace, but in the cramped space, he would only end up knocking them all over. Two minutes later, Remus spun out of the fireplace in front of him and gracefully hopped to the left. Remus raised his wand at Sirius, who ignored him, running up to Harry instead as he had popped out right after Remus. He hugged his godson, knocking his knapsack askew before Harry had a chance even to put on his glasses.

"Harry! I'm so glad you could come visit us. Did Moody turn your uncle into a ferret?"

Harry laughed as Remus pointedly stuck his wand in Sirius' face. "Padfoot! Prove who you are before I hex you."

Sirius grinned at his friend, "Just don't hit me with the jelly legs jinx, or the entire kitchen will be covered in jam like our dorm room in third year. I still don't know how you managed that one."

Remus swiped at him and huffed, trying not to laugh. "I have half a mind to hex you even though you did pass."

Harry smiled at the two marauders' antics. Mad-Eye grunted at them each in a manner of farewell. "Black, Lupin. Potter—I'll be back to get you tonight at nine. Send a message if there's any sort of trouble. Constant vigilance!" He was gone in a cloud of greenish smoke.

Harry coughed awkwardly, clearly a little bit unsure of what to do with himself. "So, Professor Lupin, um, where are we?"

Remus smiled at him, "We're at my house. It's better really if you don't know exactly where we're located, though. And please call me Remus, Harry. I'm not your professor anymore."

In response, Harry half-smiled and nodded at him. Sirius looked at Remus and saw that he was also closely examining the teen now that they were alone and realized that the two of them staring probably wasn't making their guest more at ease. He couldn't help but notice the dark circles under the green eyes that had lost a bit of their brightness and the pallor of his face, but didn't think pointing it out would help the situation.

Clearing his throat at Remus, Sirius put an arm around Harry and started to lead him toward the living room. "Do you want anything to eat, Harry? Tea or anything else?"

Harry shook his head, not meeting his godfather's eyes, which pained him. "Alright, later then."

Sitting upon a settee and waving at Harry to sit next to him, Sirius glanced at Remus.

"Harry, how are you?" Remus asked. He and Moody had already explained the lack of overt action on Voldemort's part while at the Dursleys' and that they were working hard to figure out how to establish a resistance against him.

The boy glanced over at Sirius rather pleadingly, breaking his heart with the sadness of his gaze. Merlin, he would be in trouble if that kid ever decided to use that against him.

"Remus knows about what happened, Harry. All of it, so you don't need to explain again. Do you want to talk to us about this past year, or about this summer?"

Harry looked at him carefully, "Do I have to?"

Remus rushed to reassure him, "Not at all, Harry. We just want you to know that you can talk to us about it if you want or need to."

The teenager, oddly looking like Lily despite James' face, with his pursed lips and the seriousness of his expression, slowly considered this and then shook his head. "I don't really want to talk about it right now. It sucks, but I'm okay, and I don't really have anything else to say right now about it."

"I would have thought you already would have been jumping all over us to get information on Voldemort."

"Oh, Moody already told me that he hasn't done anything yet because he's in hiding and that you're trying to restart a resistance against him. He said there wasn't anything else to tell," Harry looked at Sirius with a questioning gaze.

"Yes, he told you the truth. I contacted Moony here and together we contacted the others from the Order of the Phoenix, which is the name of the group Dumbledore started to fight against Voldemort last time."

"The one my parents were part of?"

"Yes, them, us, and others. The only ones I think you would know are Hagrid and McGonagall, aside from us, Dumbledore and Moody."

He shared a glance with Remus; neither of them was sure that they should leave out the others that Harry would know of, even if he would never actually know them. But since they weren't currently part of the Order, he didn't feel like it was important to mention the Longbottoms or Prewetts at the moment.

Remus, still looking at his friend said, "So, Harry, we just wanted to talk to you…the thing is, we've never really gotten to talk to you about your life before we met at Hogwarts. Or much about our lives, apart from what we told you the night you and Sirius met."

Sirius pitched in "We want to hear about your life." At this, his face fell and then he cast his eyes down.

"It's just that I'm really sorry I couldn't have been there for you, Harry. I should have been there for all of it. But I can't change that, and I want to know it all."

Harry's look was guarded, and Sirius was sure he was trying to figure out how he could tell them everything except the things that might get him into trouble. He recognized that expression, since it was one he himself had often worn.

"Um, okay. I don't really know where to start."

"You can start wherever you want. Or, you can feel free to ask us anything, too. About us, or your parents. We want you to be able to talk to us about anything. We're not fishing for information to get you into trouble." He smirked at Harry, who smiled back, sheepish at having his thoughts read.

"Okay, so…can you maybe ask me questions or something? I don't usually like…talking about myself." He blushed and fidgeted awkwardly with his hands.

Sirius grinned at Remus. "Yeah, I see what you mean about him really being more like Lily." Seeing Harry's look of flushed confusion, he continued, "James LOVED talking about himself; Lily hated it—it's part of why it took until seventh year for her to go out with him. He tended to ask her out in rather embarrassing ways."

"Like what?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Like the time he jumped up in the Great Hall and sang that muggle song "My Girl" to her. With us as backup, I might add. Bloody embarrassing, that was. I'm not sure how Prongs convinced us to do that one."

"Blackmail," Remus interjected.

Harry chuckled as Sirius nodded and laughed at the memory.

"Okay, Harry, your turn." Remus said.

"Moony, you're really good at asking a lot of questions. This isn't a classroom, but how about you give it a go anyway?"

Remus rolled his eyes and thought for a moment, and then smiled crookedly.

"Okay, who was your first friend?"

Harry blinked at Remus and said "Ron was my first friend."

"I meant your first friend ever, not just at Hogwarts," Remus frowned, clearly hoping this wasn't going where he was suspected.

Harry blushed and cast his eyes downward. "That's what I meant, too. I didn't really have any friends before Hogwarts."

Remus and Sirius stared at Harry for a moment and then their eyes met in alarm. Sirius looked at Harry and, realizing that this was hard for him to talk about, tamped down his reaction. He asked the first question that popped into his head, "Okay, well, can you tell us about your accidental magic? The first you remember?"

"I think the first I really remember was turning my teacher's hair blue," Harry smiled ruefully.

Sirius barked out a laugh. "That's my little marauder, starting early." Remus smirked at his reaction.

"I also shrunk a horrible sweater Aunt Petunia wanted me to wear, and ended up on the school roof one time. And once, when Aunt Petunia shaved off my hair, it regrew overnight."

"You ended up on the school roof? You apparated?!" Remus looked at him, impressed.

Harry thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I think I flew. I've never heard of anyone doing it without a broom, though."

"That's powerful magic, Harry. Let me see…who was your favorite teacher?"

Remus laughed as both of his guests looked at him with suspicious expressions.

"Present company excluded, obviously."

"Well, you have been my favorite at Hogwarts. A lot of people say the same thing."

Sirius guffawed as his friend flushed bright red. He missed watching Moony blush whenever he got a compliment or a girl looked at him in admiration.

Harry just shrugged at Lupin's dubious look. "It's the truth. Everyone was upset when you left—well, not the Slytherins, but they like Snape. Clearly they have no taste."

Sirius clapped his godson on the back; not even Moony could argue with that.

Remus cleared his throat sternly, but the effect was ruined by his blush that still had not faded. Harry was looking at him with a mixture of amusement and astonishment.

He looked at Remus with such an innocent expression, it set Sirius off again when he heard, "You know, Professor, I didn't think that anyone who wasn't a redhead could blush as dark red as a Weasley."

Remus sputtered for several moments while the other two cackled at his expense. Finally gaining control over his own embarrassment, he silenced Sirius and pointed at Harry. "And you'll be next if you can't control yourself," he said, with a small smile to make sure Harry knew he wasn't truly angry.

Sirius was quite offended and tried to hit the werewolf as he continued on with the questions, without bothering to lift the charm.

"What about before Hogwarts? Did you have any good teachers?"

Sirius rolled his eyes at the boring nature of the question. Certainly there were more interesting aspects of Harry's life than his education, particularly in a muggle primary school. If Moony ever gave his voice back, he would have to move the conversation along to more important topics. Such as girls.

"Just one. The others all disliked me because the Dursleys said I was trouble. And of course, weird things always happened around me because of my magic."

Sirius looked at Remus, trying to will him to ask why the Dursleys would be saying he was trouble. Aside from certain understandably trying moments, such as the night they had met when Harry believed him to be a murderer, he seemed to be rather eager to please. He knew Lily and Petunia hadn't gotten along very well, but couldn't remember that she'd ever explained why.

Remus nodded at Harry to go on about the teacher, making Sirius even more impatient.

"She kept me in nursery school. Aunt Petunia didn't want me to be around Dudley all day if she could help it, but Diana took a liking to me, I suppose. She always looked after me and even moved up to my primary school when I went. She only lived a couple streets over from the Dursleys, so I saw her a lot. She was the only person who ever cared about me before Hogwarts."

Seeing the hurt on the faces of the two men, Harry hastened to add, "As far as I knew, that is."

Remus covered the moment with a cough and moved on. Sirius got the impression that he had forgotten he was silenced. The ex-professor was clearly back in gentle interrogation mode.

"That's interesting. She followed you up to primary school?"

Sirius shot Remus a look of alarm. Anyone being too interested in Harry was cause for concern, at least while he was outside of the wizarding world where he had friends to protect him. Judging by the crinkle in Remus' brow, his thoughts were along the same line.

Harry had apparently picked up on the tone. "It was nothing weird. She loved all the kids; she was one of those teachers that cared about everyone. I imagine she took a little extra interest in me because she didn't like the Dursleys. Who would?"

The teen watched as the two men exchanged looks again, and this time, he was clearly getting a little exasperated. "Why are you worried about her?"

Remus removed the silencing charm from Sirius, who shot a glare at him for only now remembering to un-silence him now that he had a tough question.

He turned to his godson and sighed. "The thing is, Harry, it's a little worrisome for us when anyone takes special notice of you in the outside world. Not that a teacher shouldn't care about you, but it just makes us concerned that she could be a Death Eater in disguise, trying to get close to you. We just want to know more to make sure that isn't the case."

His godson frowned. He clearly didn't like his judgment being questioned, even by the two of them. "What do you want to know about her? What would make you understand that she's not evil?"

Sirius thought about it, because clearly, Harry couldn't just go introduce them to this woman, which would probably be the solution for normal people.

"Just tell us more about her, Harry. We can't promise that it will make us feel more at ease, but, either way, the more we know the better. Where is she now, do you know?"

"I've seen her a couple of times each summer since I left for Hogwarts. She's not a teacher anymore, and she's gone most of the time, doing some sort of traveling for research. I don't talk to her as much, though; it's a little hard since I can't tell her much about my life now, since she's a muggle."

The more information he had was not making Sirius feel better, but Harry was right that they shouldn't pass judgment too quickly. "What sort of a person is she, Harry? What things did you talk about with her? Did she tell you anything about her life?"

"I never found out much about her past, but I do know that she's an orphan, too, so I didn't really ask. I never like when people ask me about my parents without knowing them. She would tell me stories, but they weren't about her life, just childhood stories about things like prejudice, kindness, courage, that sort of thing. I think she made up them up, actually, I'd never heard them before. I always thought of her as—well, it's stupid, really. I always thought she was like my own fairy godmother, as if she was out of a muggle fairytale. All the children loved her…not the Dursleys, though. She saw through their perfect front. They were downright afraid of her, actually."

All of that sounded wonderful, but the part about the Dursleys being scared…

"Why would they be afraid of her, Harry?" Remus chimed in.

Harry frowned, thinking hard. "The Dursleys' biggest fear is being seen as abnormal. I figured either she knew something about them that they didn't want other people to know, or they thought that she was too different to associate with." He paused, looked at the floor, and then continued on with a sigh, "You've got to understand how they feel about me, though. The fact that she liked me might have been enough for them to think she was a nutter." He remained frozen, staring at the floor, with his fists clenching and unclenching. It was apparent that he thought he had shared too much and that he hated talking about his relatives.

Sirius felt as though he'd been plunged into ice water. Here he and Remus had been worried about this teacher, while perhaps their worry should have been aimed toward Harry's guardians themselves. He opened his mouth to push Harry, to find out just what had gone on in his household, and punish anyone who had ever injured him, physically, emotionally, or otherwise, when he stopped. If that's how Harry had been raised, he and Remus would have to tread carefully.

Moony looked at him with a very serious gaze that Sirius recognized as his 'angry wolf face', but he was truly trying to reign in his emotions. Unsure of what to say, Sirius scooted over to his godson, and put his hand on his shoulder. The boy's muscles were rigid under his loose grip, and he decided it was best to move on and come back to this subject at a later time, perhaps when Harry wasn't set to return to his relatives the same day.

"You said this teacher's name was Diana?"

Harry finally exhaled deeply and Sirius could feel him relaxing slightly. "Yes, Diana Barry."

Remus made an odd, snorting sound, and walked over so that he was right in front of Harry.

"Did you say her name was Diana Barry?" Moony sounded incredulous, and Sirius could not for the life of him think why. The name sounded slightly familiar, but it was the sort of name that really any number of women could have, he supposed. When he looked at his friend, however, Remus had a glint in his eye that told Sirius he was on the edge of a breakthrough.

"Moony, what is it?"

Remus was agitated, and he started pacing back and forth. He spoke and Sirius wasn't sure if it was to them or if he was just thinking out loud. The other two watched, bewildered, and followed him with their eyes as he traveled to one side of the room and then back to the other.

"Diana Barry is a muggle literary character from a famous book series, the Anne of Green Gables books. While it could easily be coincidence, or that her parents intentionally named her Diana after the character, since they already had the last name, it just reminds me...tell me a little more about this woman. I want to know before I share this thought."

Harry and Sirius looked at each other, lost. They were getting worked up, and didn't even know why yet. It was a good thing Remus was keeping out of arm's reach at the moment.

After a few moments, Remus said, "You said she told you stories you'd never heard before. Do you remember any of them?"

"Well, I don't remember the full stories or anything. They were similar to normal children's stories. Talking animals…" Harry trailed off and his eyes widened as he froze.

"What?!" Sirius was getting fed up with being left out of these epiphanies the others seemed to be having.

"Just…just a second." Harry crossed over to his knapsack and pulled out a leather-bound book. He pulled it out and looked at them, green eyes still wide with astonishment.

"The characters in her stories were talking animals. There was a crazy dog and he had friends…"

"That's normal, what with all those Disney films," Remus piped up. Sirius couldn't contribute since he knew nothing about the subject.

Harry shook his head and took a deep breath before turning to them with an air of significance.

"They were about a crazy dog and his two friends: a wolf and a stag."

Time seemed to stop as Sirius' thoughts swirled wildly. His heart started pounding wildly before he could clearly realize the meaning. He could only think one word, over and over. Anna. Anna!

"Sirius. It's got to be her," Remus was staring at him in shock. "Only she and Lily ever knew. If Peter had shared it with the Death Eaters, he never would have left out himself."

Remus pulled at his hair, "And she used to say that she felt like Diana Barry, what with Lily insisting she hated James the way that the character of Anne hated Gilbert—she said they would end up together just like in the books. That was one of Lily's favorite book series and it was Anna's way of teasing about her feelings without James knowing what she meant. Padfoot, this is it, we've found her."

Harry started flipping pages in his photo album, past all the pictures of James and Lily. He pulled out a muggle photograph that was tucked between the pages and wordlessly handed it to Remus, as Sirius was still sitting like a statue.

Remus teared up and turned to Harry. "You were half right, Harry. She's not a fairy, but she's definitely your godmother."

He handed the picture to Sirius, whose hands were shaking so badly that he could hardly hold it. Even despite his shaking and the fact that her hair had been dyed to a dark brown and she was wearing muggle teacher's clothes, he would have known her anywhere. Frozen in the muggle picture, she was smiling down at their godson with her dark blue, twinkling eyes full of love.

* * *

**Author's Note: I don't own Anne of Green Gables, either.**


	4. The Godmother's Tale, Part One

**Author's Note: This chapter has been a beast to write, so I have had to split it into two parts. I hope you all enjoy. Thank you all for reading! To my US readers, have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

The enormous patronus chased down the dementors, which quickly glided away. Harry was standing there panting and staring after the patronus. The form of the patronus appeared to dawn on him, and he said "Anna!" and turned to look at her.

Anna was shocked. How did he know?

Unfortunately, it would have to wait. If dementors had come here to Little Whinging, there was no telling who or what else might be around. They had to get out of the open.

She ran to the boys, stopping just before Harry and tentatively touching his arm.

"Are you alright?" She asked Harry, her heart pounding with exertion and the urge to take Harry and apparate far away. Dudley had to get home first.

Harry nodded at her blankly.

"I know you have a lot of questions, Harry, but I have to make sure we're all safe before I can take the time to answer them. I suppose you realize that I'm a witch." Anna stated rather than asked this. It was fairly obvious, but the boy had had a shock and she wanted to make sure he wasn't about to bolt away from her.

Harry, who was much too tall according to her most recent memory of him, nodded again. She sighed, momentarily regretting that teenage boys were still just as hard to read now that she was grown as they had been when she was a teenager. She moved on to check on Dudley, who was whimpering, crouched into a fetal position.

"Dudley? Are you okay?" He got onto all fours and scrambled away from her, keeping his eyes on her wand.

"Dudley. It's alright. It's Miss Barry. We need to get to someplace safe, quickly. Come on, now."

At that moment, they heard footsteps, trotting toward them from the direction of Privet Drive, behind them. Harry and Anna both turned, wands drawn, although Anna was still crouched over Dudley.

It was Arabella Figg. Harry quickly moved to stow his wand, but Anna didn't bother. She had tried to hide all this time from Mrs. Figg, so that she could avoid discovery, but that plan had gone to hell now, anyway.

"Keep your wand out, you silly boy! If they come back, I can't stop anythi—oh!" Mrs. Figg stopped short when Anna stood up and she could see her face.

After a pause, Harry yelled with surprising force, "You too, Mrs. Figg?! Have I been surrounded by the magical community this entire time without anyone bothering to tell me?"

Anna winced. He was going to hate her now. She put a quelling hand on Harry's shoulder, and found to her relief that he didn't shrug her off. She turned to the older woman.

"Hello, Arabella. It's, um, good to see you again. Are you here alone?"

The woman stared at her as if she were a ghost, and then shook her head. "At the moment, yes. That ridiculous thief Mundungus Fletcher was SUPPOSED to be on duty. I'm going to kill him! He is ridiculously lucky that you were nearby, Anna."

"We'll see about that. You'll be waiting in line behind me to kill him, I'm not sure he'd consider that lucky. I also doubt he would have known what to do, anyway. I can't see Dung conjuring a patronus."

Anna sighed heavily and wiped sweat from her brow. This was not the way she would have chosen to re-enter the wizarding world.

With a loud crack, the thief, looking even more unkempt than the last time Anna had seen him, appeared next to the elderly woman.

"Wha' 'appened to staying undercover, Figgy?"

Anna turned to Harry in the meantime, who looked desperately confused, while Arabella began whacking Dung vigorously with her oversized purse.

"She's a squib, Harry. Dumbledore placed her here to, er, keep an eye on you, I suppose," disapproval dripping from her words. "As for Mundungus, well, I don't know anything about that."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Harry, I was going to tell you. I didn't dare tell you before you went to Hogwarts, Petunia and Vernon would have tortured you even more than I'm sure they did as it was. And then…there were some circumstances…I'll have to explain, and I will explain everything, but I can't do it in front of them." She finished with a whisper.

Anna turned to the older pair, who were still engaged in a tussle, Mundungus trying to wrench himself from the woman's grasp. Deciding upon a plan of action, she said, "Alright Arabella, that will do. We have to get on with it."

Figg looked at her with an incredulous gaze, "You're going to let this _scum_ go? I thought you wanted first punch."

Anna grinned despite herself. "Yes, I do. Unfortunately that's going to have to wait. We need him at the moment."

She turned to Dung with a steely gaze and her wand pointed menacingly at his nose. "Don't think this means you're off the hook, Fletcher. We need your wand too much to incapacitate you just yet. I want the two of you to take Dudley home, and collect Harry's things. Er…actually…" she cut off, remembering who she was talking to, "Arabella, you collect Harry's things while Mundungus explains to Dudley's parents what happened, and please make sure Dung doesn't touch his belongings. Harry and I have to get to ground immediately, before the Ministry comes knocking."

The two nodded, eyes wide at the authority emanating from this woman. They had clearly forgotten who she really was and how forceful she could be, probably remembering instead the mess of a girl they had seen briefly in the aftermath of the elder Potters' deaths and Sirius's imprisonment.

She conjured a wheelchair for Dudley, who was still on all fours whimpering, mouth lolling open.

Anna leaned down to help him up, but he jerked away from her in fear. She cast her eyes heavenward with impatience. The Dursleys had really done a number on him about magic. Of course, he had just been chased down by dementors, she remembered with chagrin. Perhaps this time, his cowardice could be chalked up to a bad experience.

Pulling out a chocolate bar, Anna had a feeling her second attempt might be more successful. It appeared that Dudley's fear of wizards and witches did not extend to sweets they offered. She reached a hand down after handing him the chocolate bar, which he was gobbling up eagerly despite his green, apparently nauseated face, and attempted to pull him to his feet.

Harry dashed over to help, and together, they got Dudley situated in the oversized wheelchair.

"Right now, Dung. After you handle the Dursleys, go to U-Dumbledore," she stumbled over the name as Dung looked at her a little accusingly with his piggy little eyes. She ignored his gaze. "Tell him what's happened and that Harry didn't perform magic. I'll follow up, but we need him to know to calm the Ministry and make sure the area is safe. Harry and I will be out of sight."

"Now 'ang on just a moment, where are you taking 'im?"

Anna stared the middle-aged thief down, her nose curling in disgust as her blue eyes flashed dangerously. He took two hasty steps backward, lifting his hands as a shield.

"Now you care about Harry's safety?! I'm taking him to where we'll be safe. Never you mind where that is. I'll contact them after you deliver your message. Go!"

She spun on her heel and took Harry by the arm.

"Come on."

They hurried together toward a big elm tree before the park, with Anna only turning once to check that her instructions were being followed and that no eyes were following them.

"Are we going to your house?" Harry whispered.

"Yes, but I'm making sure they can't see where we're headed first. Okay, now."

The two ran quietly toward Anna's little yellow house, with Harry stopping repeatedly to let her catch up. He had always been very fast.

Upon reaching her cottage, Anna yanked the boy inside and shut the door with a bang. They went to the living room and collapsed, neither speaking for a few moments as they caught their breath.

"Are we safe here?" Harry asked. "I mean, if they ask, all the muggles in the area know you're here."

Anna shook her head. "Actually, they don't. Do you know what the fidelius charm is, Harry?" She wasn't sure if she hoped he already knew or not. If he knew what Sirius had supposedly done, it would be much more difficult for him to trust her.

"Yes," he said looking at her in surprise, "that's how my parents hid from Voldemort."

"Right," she hesitated, did he know they had been betrayed yet?

"I performed the fidelius charm to hide this house when S—a couple of years ago. When I was a teacher, I needed to have a visible residence to preserve my cover, but since I've been traveling around the world doing research…" Anna trailed off, not certain how this was going to go, and wondering where to start.

"Okay, Harry," she said, rising from her chair, "let's take this to the kitchen. I think we could both use some chocolate ice cream. I doubt you've had much experience with dementors in the past, but chocolate is the best remedy."

"I've seen far more than my share of dementors already."

Anna stopped and looked at him in concern, noting his haunted green eyes. They were in the kitchen by now, and she was standing in front of the open freezer, one hand on the ice cream, staring at him. She decided to skip the dementors for the moment.

"How did you know who I was?"

"Remus and Sirius told me."

There was no animosity in Harry's face when speaking of Sirius, and the fact that he spoke of Remus and Sirius, together, made her burn with a hope that she had not felt in years. She was barely able to form words.

"How…when…Sirius..?"

"I found out everything last year. About Pettigrew being the real traitor, about Sirius. About Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. That's where I saw dementors before. The Ministry stationed them at Hogwarts last year since they thought Sirius was after me. They seem to like me for some reason. Professor Lupin taught me how to cast a patronus charm."

"So you know Sirius is innocent, and Remus knows. Who else knows?"

"I think the whole Order, but I'm only sure of Dumbledore and Moody."

Anna swallowed hard. Dumbledore. He knew. She nodded and moved on to safer territory.

"Remus always wanted to be a teacher. I bet he's wonderful," she said, smiling at the thought. Professor Lupin. It had a nice ring.

"Everyone loved him. He was the first Defense teacher we've ever had that was any good. And he did teach me the patronus charm, which is supposed to be—"

"Well above OWL level! I'm very impressed, Harry."

Harry blushed, looking down at the bowl, but Anna could see a bit of pride in his eyes. She hadn't really seen that when he was a child. It was nice to know he was growing in confidence.

"Remus left then?"

"How did you know?"

"No Defense teacher ever lasts more than a year. Also, you used the past tense. So tell me, what's your patronus?"

He looked at her knowingly.

"Mine's Prongs. And, uh, yours is…"

Anna blushed and nodded. "Padfoot, yes. It changed—I've read that they can do that when someone has an emotional upheaval."

Harry stared at her awkwardly. After opening and shutting his mouth several times, Anna got the impression that he didn't really know which question to ask first.

"We'll talk while we eat. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Once they were seated at the kitchen table and had gotten a start on their heaping scoops of ice cream, Harry looked up at her, determined to find out everything.

"How did you know my parents?"

Anna sighed, rather relieved to start toward the beginning, before everything had gone to pieces.

"I knew James for most of my life. Our parents were good friends from their Hogwarts' days, and they were both older couples who had us later in life, and we lived near each other. I didn't meet Lily until we went to Hogwarts, of course."

She waved her wand, and a book flew toward her, out from under the sofa in the living room. She turned to the first page, and handed over the book. It was a picture of a toddler, looking very much like Harry in his own baby pictures, next to a younger baby girl with dark blue eyes who was on her stomach on a patch of grass. The boy was smiling mischievously and poking the baby repeatedly on the top of the head until she let out a squawk and a pair of adult feet rushed over into the frame. Harry smiled.

"You and my dad?"

"Mm hm. You can look at the rest, too. Go ahead."

The next picture was of Anna, with light brown hair, wearing a Hogwarts uniform. She looked like she was just barely eleven. A woman who must have been her mother was laughing and looking down at her, with the same gentle smile that Anna sometimes gave to Harry and matching light brown hair.

"Yes, that's mum."

Harry hesitated before turning and asking "How did they die?"

Anna stared at her ice cream spoon as the chocolate dripped down into the bowl.

"They were murdered by Death Eaters. They were the earliest confirmed wizarding casualties of the first war. My father was an auror, and he was trying to connect a rash of muggle disappearances and mysterious deaths to Voldemort."

Anna swallowed. Even after all this time, it was difficult to discuss.

"My mother and I surprised them, I think. We were supposed to be out, but we came home and saw…they put me under the Cruciatus curse to torture my parents. Moody and some other aurors, including your grandfather, arrived just a couple of minutes too late. They killed them with the killing curse."

A silence followed as Harry stared down at the picture of the little girl. He shuddered and then looked up at her with a gaze that showed sympathy for her and anger at what had happened to her parents.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

Harry seemed to know that she was talking about his parents as well. A look of understanding passed between them and he smiled sadly at her. She reached over and squeezed his shoulder gently before turning the page again.

This time, the picture was of two men laughing.

"That's your grandfather, Charles, on the left. Dad is on the right."

The man on the left had messy hair that stuck up in the back, but it was brown instead of black, and he had hazel eyes that held more seriousness than James' had, despite the fact that he was laughing. Anna gazed at the man on the right, her father, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. She still missed him.

Harry looked up at her with a frown.

"What is it?"

"He just…your father looks familiar to me. Very familiar."

"Yes, well, he would. I do have his eyes."

Harry hesitated and stared at her blue eyes.

"Your eyes look familiar, too."

It suddenly occurred to Anna what was happening and she looked back at Harry steadily.

"Sirius and Remus didn't tell you my full name, did they?"

He shook his head. She reached over and turned to the next page of the photo album, which was a picture of her whole family. Harry's eyes widened with recognition and he looked at Anna in amazement.

"Now you see why I had to change my name, huh?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the Order was conducting a small meeting in the kitchen at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius and Remus had decided that it was time to include the Order in their search. In the past weeks, Remus had done some research, first checking at the primary school to see if they had an address for her. He had turned on what Sirius called his 'professorly charm' and talked the elderly receptionist into giving it to him. Apparently he had a trustworthy face. Sirius snorted at the memory of Moony's blush as he had passed on that piece of information.

When Remus had gone to the address, however, expecting to find his lost friend, all he found was an empty lot with a few scrub bushes. He and Sirius were beyond their resources at this point, especially considering that one of them couldn't even leave the house. They were beyond frustrated.

Despite his lingering anger at the old man, Sirius couldn't help but feel a bit of satisfaction when the headmaster, overcome with the news, had choked up and taken off his glasses to pinch his nose between his thumb and forefinger. The guilt and relief he felt were almost palpable.

Arthur had turned to the two Marauders and hesitantly spoke up, "I'm sorry, but I have to ask: are you sure it's her? Absolutely sure?"

Sirius opened his mouth to respond, exasperated, but McGonagall interjected before he could speak.

"They're positive, Arthur. It's all true."

Every head in the room whipped toward McGonagall in a synchronized move that would have been comical, had they been in a cartoon.

She directed her words to Dumbledore, almost pleading.

"When we left that little boy there, Albus…I could not in good conscience leave him, without a word, for ten years. Not with those people."

Her tone turned slightly accusing, "I heard you the night the Minister called, Albus, when Harry was about three. I know that there were inquiries about whether or not he was taken care of properly by Arabella as well as his daycare. When you told them that Harry had to stay no matter what, I had to go check."

The news about the "inquiries" seemed to knock the group out of their collective shock.

Sirius, uncharacteristically, wasn't even able to speak, as he was frozen with rage and fear. Molly jumped in, with her voice raised menacingly, "You didn't even check on him? Even after the Ministry got involved?"

Dumbledore raised his hand for silence, "Please. You will have your chance to question me afterward, but we need to hear what Minerva has to say first."

Sirius clenched his hands into white-knuckled fists. Remus huffed and began pacing around the room, tugging at his hair again.

"I went to check on him, and there Anna was. I talked to her after work, and we worked out a way of communication. I sent her updates on Harry the first two summers, but after that, my letters came back unanswered. I don't know where she is or even where she lived at the time. She felt that was safest."

Before anyone could comment, the doorbell went off, sending the portrait of Sirius's mother into her usual hysterics of "Filth! Blood traitors besmirching the noble House of—"

Sirius ran to the portrait, pointing his wand and silencing his hag of a mother with a bang, as Moody stumped back into the room, lugging Mundungus.

"Dung? What's happened? Is it Harry?" Moody grunted and yanked his captive into the kitchen as Mundungus spluttered and cursed. Mad-Eye tossed him in front of Dumbledore and tapped the thief none-too-gently with his cane.

"Tell Albus what you just told me in the hallway."

Mundungus glowered at Moody as he continued to splutter. The words "Figgy…bleeding huge bag…" were all they could make out until they finally heard "dementors".

Sirius, who Remus had been holding back from grabbing and shaking Mundungus, froze in terror.

Dumbledore got up from his seat and gravely asked, "Dementors? In Little Whinging? Is Harry—is everyone—safe? Were you able to scare them off with a patronus?"

Sirius could understand why Dumbledore was asking. It was well known in the Order that Mundungus couldn't send messages using a patronus, so he didn't see how it was possible that he could have conjured one when actually faced with dementors. He turned back to the thief, who was playing with his filthy handkerchief, pulling it between his hands.

"Yeah, they're alright. I din't have to cast one, 's it turns out."

He mumbled something that sounded like "little witch" and then looked at Dumbledore sheepishly.

"See, I 'ad a business opportunity. So, I left, only for a minute, to see my contact. Figgy was goin' to keep an eye out. But then I got back, and she was whackin' me with 'er purse and the other one was orderin' me abou'…"

"What 'other one'?!" Moody asked, exasperated.

"The one what saved 'em from the dementors. Haven't seen her in years, and she starts tellin' me where to go and what—"

Dumbledore's voice cut through the babble, still patient, but with a tone that would broke no further postponement.

"Who?"

The thief looked back at the old wizard, almost apologetically.

"Sir, it was Anna. Anna Dumbledore."


	5. The Godmother's Tale, Part Two

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews and follows! I hope you enjoy.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Sirius didn't know whether to feel relieved, concerned, or downright terrified, so he settled for a mixture of the three. At least they knew where Anna was now, that she was safe, and she had been able to save Harry. On the other hand, why had dementors attacked? If they had been sent by Voldemort that meant that the protection at the Dursleys' might have failed. If they hadn't been sent by Voldemort, however, which was more likely, that meant that someone at the Ministry had a sinister motive that they didn't mind sacrificing a couple of young souls for, including that of the boy-who-lived, and that was an even scarier thought. How could they even begin to fight an unknown enemy that was likely protected by the Minister?

"Why would You-Know-Who send dementors? It doesn't make any sense, Dumbledore. And if I understand the protection, then they shouldn't have even been able to." Arthur rearranged his glasses nervously.

Dumbledore seemed to have come to the same conclusion that Sirius had, judging by his grim expression. He cleared his throat.

"I very highly doubt that the dementors were sent to Little Whinging by Voldemort. I have charms set about the Dursley home which should let me know of any failing in the protective magic that is there, and there has been no indication that those charms have faltered. It is more likely that they were sent by another party."

"Wait, Albus…do you mean the Minister?"

Molly looked horrified at the thought as Dumbledore shook his head in response.

"No, I do not think Cornelius would stoop to using Dementors in this way. He may be a coward and a crooked politician, but he is not evil. No, he is calculating. He has not lost hope that one day in the future, Harry may be an ally for him in the eyes of the public. I think it more likely that someone else in the Ministry took it upon themselves to fix things up for him, so to speak. I have no idea as to whom, however."

The group took a minute to absorb that. Dumbledore caught Sirius's eye and nodded at the impatience there.

"Yes, there's no time to lose. I will need to head to the Ministry now."

He looked at those assembled around him, apparently trying to decide upon the best course of action.

"Arthur, since you've met the Dursleys, would you please go there and check around? See if they have ideas as to how to find Harry and make sure that his cousin is alright. You may need to soothe some ruffled feathers."

Arthur nodded, although he didn't look pleased at the assignment. Sirius understood. It wasn't a pleasant idea to think of having to calm the relatives that they had just learned had most likely mistreated their nephew. Sirius hadn't been around them long, but he could tell that Harry was quite a favorite of both Weasley parents, as well as the majority of their children. Remembering that helped when he and Molly clashed due to their 'differences of opinion', as Moony delicately put it. Arthur followed after Dumbledore, who had already flooed to the Ministry.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius noticed Mundungus was trying to creep out of the room now that everyone's attention was diverted. His rage at Mundungus reignited now that he had a moment to think about how he had abandoned Harry, so he took his wand and slammed the kitchen door shut before Dung could wiggle his way out. He walked straight into it, and staggered backward at the impact.

"No you don't, Dung!"

Fletcher squirmed where he stood, back now against the door. His shifty eyes flickered to Remus and then Moody, but they both shook their heads at him to signal he would receive no help from either of them, as Sirius pointed his wand between his eyes.

"Let's get something straight. I doubt you'll ever be in charge of my godson's protection again, but, if you ever put him in danger of anything, even so much as a cough, you will have me to answer to."

Sirius received a nod of agreement.

"I want you to say it," he urged with a menacing shake of his wand.

Mundungus scowled and said "Got it," under his breath.

Sirius turned as if to let him go, and then hit the thief, square in the jaw. Molly shrieked as Mundungus ran out and turned to Sirius as if to scold him, but stopped when Remus held up a hand.

"Molly, that needed to be done. Dung nearly let something unthinkable happen to Harry. If he's going to be on patrol, he can't be allowed to think it's okay to run off for any reason."

"But…oh, alright." Molly huffed, after looking at Moody and seeing that he was in full agreement with the Marauders. "But don't ever let me see you handling anyone that way in front of the children."

Sirius nodded and rolled his eyes. Molly's children were mostly grown, but you'd think they were still babies, the way she treated them sometimes. He was amazed that she permitted Bill and Charlie to be in the Order, but then realized that she probably hadn't willingly allowed it at all.

It seemed like hours before Arthur returned, red in the face and clearly vexed.

"Those people!" He huffed with a groan of frustration. "They weren't even the slightest bit concerned for Harry. They're blaming him for this happening to their son, who was perfectly fine after eating the chocolate. Wouldn't believe for a second that Harry was about to save their precious son's life."

Arthur collapsed into the chair that Remus had nudged out from under the table, where Sirius, Remus, McGonagall and Molly had been keeping their vigil. Moody had finally left, demanding that he be kept informed of any developments. Sirius was trying his hardest not to pounce on Arthur for news, but fortunately, he seemed aware that they would be desperate for information.

"I asked about Anna. Apparently, they knew she was there from early on. Petunia had met her before, when Anna went to visit Lily during the summer holidays. They wouldn't say much about her, but it seems that Petunia threatened to take Harry and leave if she ever let slip to him about his past. But, ah, it seemed as though some threats were made in return."

Arthur's lips twitched.

"They are quite thoroughly petrified of her. Not that that's surprising, they seem to be afraid of anything to do with magic at all, but it seemed to be more so with her. As soon as I mentioned her name, their eyes popped wide—it was rather satisfying."

"Yes, I can imagine," Remus smiled.

"I'd like to make some threats to them myself. Or rather, make good on some." Sirius growled to himself.

"I don't think that's going to be necessary, Sirius. We're going to all have a talk with Dumbledore after this; none of us are going to stand for Harry returning there after hearing that he wasn't properly taken care of."

Sirius realized that Molly and Arthur were having a whispered conversation.

"What is going on with you two?"

Molly reddened and her eyes filled with tears. She choked out words that Sirius could only halfway make out.

"We should have realized…they said 'starved'…bars…"

She buried her face in her hands and Sirius looked helplessly at Arthur, whose shoulders slumped in defeat.

"After Harry's first year…Ron and Hermione weren't able to reach him. They sent him letter after letter, but they all went unanswered. We had made up our minds to go and fetch him ourselves, but before we could, Ron and the twins snuck out and got him in the middle of the night. They were in trouble for taking the flying car without permission, and they said…they said…Harry wasn't getting any food and there were b-bars on his windows."

Molly was now sobbing. Sirius's stomach rolled. He knew what it was to be imprisoned and starving, and the thought of that happening to his little twelve-year old godson made him feel as though he would be physically ill. Remus's face was white.

"We thought the boys were exaggerating, to get themselves out of trouble, but now…" Arthur looked at Sirius pleadingly. "I didn't think it was possible that anyone could treat a child—any child—that way. I should've done something, I'm so very sorry. Oh, Harry." Arthur wiped his eyes.

Sirius swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"It's not your fault, either of you. Harry was our responsibility. And if Anna hasn't been able to find a way to get him out of there in the past 14 years, and I'm sure she's bent over backward trying, there isn't going to be a way. Not without Dumbledore's say so."

He ran a hand over his face miserably.

"We'll talk to Dumbledore. Once Anna is here. I'm sure she'll have more information. And we'll have more people to reason with him. I'm sorry, Padfoot, I should have tried sooner. I really believed Dumbledore when he said that Harry was safe and taken care of."

Sirius nodded and they all fell into despondent silence. The time ticked by, and finally, Albus reappeared in the fireplace with a whoosh. They all turned to him.

"It's okay, for now. Fudge believes that it wasn't Harry, but now he's going to want to speak with Anna, and maybe Harry as well."

He shook his white head.

"We'll just have to wait until we hear word from her. Mundungus said that she planned to contact us."

The others gazed back at him rather stonily, and he sat down to join their vigil.

* * *

"Aberforth is my grandfather. He's Uncle Albus's younger brother and he owns the Hog's Head."

Harry just looked at her in astonishment.

"Surely, you didn't think that he popped into existence without any family, Harry," she smiled a little, realizing that in all likelihood, that was exactly how the teen had thought of her great-uncle.

He shrugged and chuckled a little.

"So, your parents' murder, was that…because of who they were related to?"

Anna winced, but answered honestly, having thought extensively about that very thing herself.

"I'm not really sure. I'm sure that's part of why they wanted to recruit them, but as far as their murders, I think that was more likely decided on the spot. Voldemort was really too afraid to come close to Uncle Albus. After that, the resistance against Voldemort erupted into full force, and he lost a lot of supporters as well. There were a lot of pure-blood bigots who were all for messing with the muggles, but they balked when they realized that he would kill purebloods and torture children, especially those of a well-known family. It made them realize none of them were untouchable."

Harry nodded as he stared into his empty ice cream bowl, deep in thought. Anna looked up at the clock and gasped, realizing it had been nearly two hours since they had left Mundungus and Arabella. She thought for a moment, mentally composing her message, and then cast a patronus and sent it off to Remus, after deciding he was the best option. Harry was watching her, and she turned toward him with a thought.

"So, anything you'd like to tell me about? Any exciting stories from Hogwarts?"

She really hoped his third and fourth years were less eventful than the first two, which she had read about in letters from Minerva. Harry looked at her, eyes wide and slightly alarmed at her cocked eyebrow. He must have noticed her use of the teacher 'I know what you've been up to' voice.

"I already know about your first two years, and I'm not sure whether to be proud of you or tell you off. Professor McGonagall has been writing me."

"McGonagall? She knows where you are?" He was clearly astounded.

Anna sighed, "No, actually, she doesn't, not exactly. She doesn't know where the house is, and she only knows that I used to be around here, not where I am now. We set up a protocol for her to contact me each year, but now, if I see an owl, I don't accept the letter because it could be a trap. Ever since Sirius escaped, I've been trying to find him. If I found him, I didn't want her to know where he was in case she sent the Ministry after us." She paused, remembering the day McGonagall had found her.

"You were little, about three, when she came around to check on you. I tried to get you out of the Dursleys, Harry, you have to know that. I tried everything I could. Social Services, the Ministry, although that was through the daycare and then the school, without my real name."

She looked down at this and breathed to calm herself. It was the greatest failure of her life that she had been unable to protect her charge. Exhaling deeply, she continued.

"She had decided to keep an ear out for word about you, as she was never sure that you should have been taken there. So one day, I was leaving work, and she was there."

The memory overtook her and she closed her eyes. The fear that she would be reported to the Ministry and taken away from Harry had driven her to uncharacteristically frantic tears. The ever stoic professor, shocked at realizing this muggle teacher was actually her prodigal former student, had just said "Oh, my dear girl," and wrapped Anna in her arms. She had told all. It had been McGonagall who had helped her create muggle references and transcripts in order to get the teaching position at Harry's primary school.

She looked up and realized Harry was rather impatiently waiting for her to continue, despite reeling from this news. He was ruffling his bangs in a way that reminded her forcefully of James.

"She promised not to say anything if I would send a letter to her each year through muggle post, to her home. Once you went to Hogwarts, she would do the same. Since Sirius disappeared before your third year, I stopped getting the letters."

Anna looked up at Harry, her heartbreak visible in her eyes, which were shining with tears.

"That's why I didn't tell you who I was once you got your Hogwarts letter. It was selfish, but I was afraid that you would hear all about Sirius's supposed betrayal and hate me by extension."

She looked down, ashamed. Harry would have believed her. Wiping her eyes, she looked up at the emerald eyes she so loved. They were unreadable.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, and that I couldn't get you out, Harry. Since I couldn't, I tried to be there for you in every way that I could. It wasn't enough and I…"

"No," Harry cut her off. "You and Sirius…everything you've done has been for me."

He shifted uncomfortably and blushed.

"I can't imagine that my parents could have expected anything more."

He looked down. Anna smiled at him through her tears.

"Well, I don't know about what James and Lily would have expected from us. They would have given you the moon and most likely knew we would do the same. But, Harry, I did it for you. I love you. You deserve more than the way you've been raised. I hope you know that."

Still looking down, he nodded. She would have to be satisfied with that for now and hope that the message would eventually get through.

A change of subject was needed. "Okay, so tell me about last year."

Harry took a deep breath and shuddered. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with agony.

Anna gasped and gently grabbed his arm. "Harry, what…?"

"Voldemort's back."

* * *

The vigil came to an end as a silvery patronus shot into the kitchen. Remus's eyes jerked toward Sirius's in confusion as he recognized the form, before it stopped in front of him and spoke in Anna's voice.

"Harry and I are okay, but we're in hiding at my house. Come to the Dursleys' neighborhood, at the corner of Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk straight away, shoot some sparks into the air, and I'll show you where to go. If I see anyone other than you or Sirius, neither of us is coming out and Harry will stay here with me." Her voice softened, "I'm looking forward to seeing you both."

The patronus started to leave, but then turned back suddenly to speak, as though adding a postscript.

"Oh, and Remus…I told you so," the patronus finished with a cheeky tone.

Sirius laughed, though his eyes were bright with tears. Hearing her message, it hit him just how dearly he had missed Anna. To hear her voice, to hear her joke the same way she had before, it gave him hope. He was going to see her that night, after years of wishing for her. What could he say after all that time? Wrapping his arms around her until the world righted itself again, however long that took, sounded like a good plan to him. Hopefully she would agree.

* * *

Harry detailed the past two years for Anna, as she listened, aghast. His third year, at least, had held no real danger from Sirius, but the thought that Peter had slept in the same room with Harry, and how close the dementors had come…the two most precious souls she knew of were very close to being lost forever, and she hadn't had a clue. It left her nerves of steel rather shaky. His fourth year, however, well, there were simply no words. She just put her arm around him and they sat by the window without speaking, waiting for the signal.

At half-past midnight, they saw sparks and both jerked up. Anna told Harry to stay where he was, wand at the ready until she returned.

She cast a disillusionment charm on herself just before heading outside the boundary of the fidelius charm. Just in case, if this turned out not to be Remus, she wanted to have the upper-hand.

As she took a few steps toward the meeting spot, she saw him in the darkness standing next to the street sign on the corner. Her eyes adjusted and she saw that it was Remus, despite the shabby robes and gray at his temples. The last few years had clearly not treated him very well, but he still had an air about him of excitement. He was excited to see her, she realized as her heart clenched. _Remus._ She took a deep breath, savoring the sight of him for a moment, and then raised her wand.

"What happened the night you, Sirius and I babysat Harry for the first time that you made us swear never to tell anyone?"

Remus's mouth quirked into a smile, the question itself proving her identity as she knew it would.

"I…I dropped him while we were giving him a bath. After scolding Sirius for flying around with him on a broom. He didn't let up teasing me about it for weeks after."

Lifting the disillusionment charm, she stepped next to him. They just stared at each other for a moment, unable to believe their eyes. Then she thought of Harry waiting for them, and gestured to him.

"We need to go in, Harry's inside. My home is at 132 Wisteria Walk, Little Whinging."

Remus jerked back as the house appeared before him, and then continued inside.

She ushered him inside, and they resumed their staring at each other. After about two minutes, Anna half-choked, half-sobbed Remus' name and they rushed at each other. He opened his arms as she tackled him, and he held onto her tightly.

After several moments, they pulled back and stared at each other, smiling despite their tears.

Remus said "I'm sorry, I was wrong, I should have-"

"It's alright, I forgive you, you didn't know. I'm sorry I left you."

Remus smiled then, ruefully. "Call it even?"

She smiled back, "Deal."

They grinned at each other through their tears, reveling in the comfort of each other's presence.

Theirs had always been a pure friendship, unadulterated by romantic feelings, just solid affection, respect and appreciation of the other's mind and very soul. Anna found to her great relief that the same affection was still there in Remus's eyes when he looked back at her. She hoped they could rebuild their relationship now that they were back on the same page.

Remus turned to Harry and smiled. "Harry, good to see you. How are you?"

"I'm alright."

Remus looked at him doubtfully.

"Well," Harry amended," better now, in any case. Professor, tell me what's happening the past two weeks. What's Voldemort been up to? I haven't seen anything in the Prophet."

Anna turned toward Remus, too. "Yes, _Professor_, what is going on? What's the plan, what's the Order up to?"

Remus smiled as he took in their expectant faces.

"We're going to discuss all that back at Headquarters. Are you ready to go?"

She gestured to the suitcase that was still propped up against her coffee table, where she had left it earlier.

"Good," Remus nodded approval, "and Harry, Arthur already took your things from the Dursleys, after he er—checked up on them."

"How's Dudley? Still thinking I set the dementors on him?"

"I think Mundungus and then Arthur, were able to explain it to them thoroughly. Whether or not they believed it, I don't know."

Remus's mouth tightened considerable when speaking of the Dursleys, and Anna wondered how much he knew about their treatment of Harry.

"Alright," Remus continued, "We're going to have to apparate to London, to that park where we met before, remember?"

Anna nodded.

"Harry, I'm going to have to take you side-along. Just hold on very tightly, alright?"

Harry, looking nervous, gripped Remus's arm tightly. She watched as they turned on the spot, and then followed with a pop.


	6. Reunited

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

They arrived in the park, in the darkness. Anna squinted, unable to see Harry or Remus. The parks were never well-lit in this part of town.

"Anna?"

She heard Remus's whisper in the darkness, off to her left somewhere and crept toward it, wand out. Her eyes finally adjusted and she saw him, standing next to a bench, still clutching Harry's arm. Harry looked a little sick.

"Are you alright Harry? Apparition takes some getting used to."

He nodded although he was still swaying a little.

"Okay, Remus, where to now?"

"We're just going up the road here."

"What? I thought you said we were going to headquarters. I thought we were going here to throw off anyone who could be following."

"No—headquarters is just up the road there."

"But…Remus…this is Grimmauld Park!"

Harry had been swiveling his head back and forth, trying to follow their hushed conversation.

"Anna—we need to be quiet."

"Oh, sod it. Muffliato."

She cast the charm she had learned from Lily and looked at Remus expectantly.

"Now they can't hear us, Remus, so kindly explain what we are doing at Grimmauld Place of all places."

Remus sighed. It was against protocol, she knew, but if he had wanted to avoid having this chitchat in the open air, he should have just explained back at her home. There was no way she would just walk in that house, especially with Harry in tow, without a fantastic reason.

"It belongs to Sirius now. His parents died years ago, and you know Regulus was presumed dead before the end of the first war."

Well, now she felt stupid—but there was still no way Sirius would live there, surely.

"Yes, he is, he's living there."

She looked at Remus incredulously as he answered her thoughts. She heard Harry asking what they were talking about, sounding rather annoyed. She couldn't form words to answer him. There was no way Sirius was…he couldn't. He would be absolutely miserable there, in the home (to use the term loosely) that he had hated all his life. Unless he had changed…

Wait, what if he _had_ changed? He had been around dementors for twelve years. They were supposed to make wizards go insane, to the point of losing their powers. She had heard enough from Harry to know that Sirius hadn't lost his magic or gone mad, but was that really enough? Would he even remember her, or only remember the bad memories? And if he did, would he feel the same way about her, or would that have been lost? She knew he would be changed, after all, so was she, but was he even still the Sirius that she had known? Why was all of this only occurring to her only now that she didn't have time to ponder it?

A hand was on her arm and she started.

"Anna—I would've told you if he wasn't…well, himself."

She looked at Remus's blue eyes and saw nothing but sincerity as he read her thoughts.

"He's been through a lot, so have we all, but he's still Sirius. I promise."

She tried to swallow, but it felt like her heart was jumping through her throat. She had forgotten it could beat that fast.

"Are you okay?"

Harry's voice snapped her out of the daze. They had to get undercover now, he could be in danger, and it would be all her fault if they were caught out at this point.

"I'm—" her voice cracked. "I'm alright, Harry. I was just a little taken by surprise. I suppose I'm a bit…a bit nervous."

Anna tried to smile at him, but she wasn't sure the result of her shaky effort would be encouraging. She shook her head, trying to dispel the unwelcome thoughts and instead focus on Harry.

"We need to go, Harry. Remus, I'll take the rear."

They moved toward the street full of townhouses, Anna towing her suitcase, all of them with wands out.

* * *

Sirius was pacing in the kitchen. It had to be time for them to be here! What if something had happened?

Dumbledore and Arthur were discussing muggle technology, at least that's what Sirius thought they were doing, based on the occasionally mispronounced word he could catch. Molly was puttering around, trying to straighten up the kitchen. McGonagall had also had enough of just sitting and waiting. She had her quill out, making lesson plans and prefect schedules for the new school year. He wondered if Harry would be appointed prefect. Although Sirius had never aspired to a position of responsibility himself, he would be proud of Harry, if that's what he wanted. He couldn't quite imagine going around the school, enforcing rules, but it seemed to make Remus happy, at least until he had to deal with the Marauders' constant teasing.

Where was that werewolf? It was going on an hour since Remus had left, and it shouldn't take much longer than that.

Sirius passed a glass cupboard and winced as he noticed his reflection. His handsome looks had been a matter of pride when he was younger, and it was bizarre to see his own face looking so aged, especially since he had gone nearly twelve years without the ability to see his own reflection and get used to changes a bit at a time. He knew better than to think that looks would matter to Anna, but there was a lot riding on this reunion, and he would have felt more confident about his reception if he looked more like the same man she had known before.

How would she have changed? In Harry's picture she had barely looked any different, save the change in hair color, but that was a few years ago. What else might have changed? He had thought to ask Harry whether or not she was married, so he knew that she wasn't. But that didn't mean that she hadn't found someone during all the world traveling she had done. Even if she hadn't, it didn't mean that she was still in love with him, either. It had only taken them six years, if that, to fall in love with each other, and it had been more than twice that long since he'd seen her.

Would she be angry with him for taking off after Wormtail, instead of waiting and trying to convince Dumbledore and the Ministry that he was innocent? He was ashamed of it now; even if they hadn't believed him, they might have at least questioned the two of them first.

He had certainly changed a lot, too. If she was expecting Sirius to be the same man—or boy, really—that he had been when they were together, she might be sorely disappointed. But really, he hadn't changed, not deep down. Now he was more solemn, more broody, perhaps, but the things that had always been foremost in his priorities were the same: his friends, Harry, Anna, and fighting the pureblood bigotry he'd been fighting since before he could remember. He hoped that was enough. They should be here any minute.

A chair scraped loudly against the floor as Molly rearranged it, causing him to remember the others gathered nearby. She crept toward him with the hesitancy that marked their relationship during its less tempestuous moments and waited for him to look toward her. He did finally look up at her, albeit distractedly.

"Sirius, I just wanted to suggest…maybe you would like to go to the front hall?"

What was she thinking? Why would he just go stand next to his mother's portrait?

"Er…thanks, Molly, but I'd rather just stay here and pace."

He squinted, trying to figure out what her look of concentration meant.

"It's just that…I thought you might like to meet up with Anna and Harry without an audience."

Sirius's eyes shot open wide as he realized Molly was right. The last thing he wanted to do was to try to sort all of this out in front of everyone.

"Oh, right. Thanks."

He nodded at her gratefully as he absentmindedly strode out of the kitchen, on his way to the front parlor. Tiptoeing as quietly as he could, he felt ridiculous, but really didn't want to deal with the hag's painting at the moment. Everything was unnaturally quiet without the kids up, and he shuddered to think what it would be like if he were alone, in the silence, all the time.

As he entered the first room to the right of the front door, he flicked his wand to light the lamps in the front parlor, which they had already 'cleaned', fortunately. It still held a smell from years of disuse, but at least he didn't have to be afraid of something grabbing or biting him if he reached under a cushion or opened a cupboard door. He brushed aside the faded drapes that had once been silver, but were now a dingy brownish-gray, trying to see the street. Impossible, it was completely dark. He extinguished the lamps, deciding that he wanted to see outside more than in.

Time passed so slowly, due to his agitation, that he couldn't be sure how much time had passed before he saw the brief flare of a wand tip. Nothing could be seen beyond that. He knew that Remus would have to hand both Harry and Anna the note from Dumbledore, passing on the secret, so they could see and enter the house. He lit the lamps quickly, wanting the house to seem as inviting as possible, though that was probably futile.

The front door creaked and Sirius heard them come into the hall. Taking a deep breath to steel himself first, he turned to see Remus peeking in at him through the half open doorway. Moony gave him an encouraging nod and then opened the door wide.

Sirius could only make out a dark shape at first, but then Remus shoved Anna into the room and shut the door, calling out as Anna turned to the closed door.

"We're going to the kitchen, Harry's hungry. I'll keep them occupied."

She turned around, and all he could do was stare. Her hair was longer now, he could tell, though it was pulled back. It was still the dark brown it had been in Harry's picture. Her eyes were as dark blue as ever, darker than her uncle's, but still twinkly like his always were. She was definitely older, with the beginnings of small lines on her forehead and around her eyes, and a more mature air about her. Her eyes held a little bitterness and regret now, but as she looked at him, he could still see that indomitable spark shining inside her that signaled that this was definitely his Anna.

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat and tried again. Still nothing. Her eyes still held questions, but they softened as she took pity on him and smiled a little as he chuckled nervously.

"Nice to know that Moony is as subtle as ever," she said softly.

The sweet familiarity of her voice swept over him and his heart thudded. Tears sprang to his eyes, and surprisingly, that loosened his tongue.

"Oh, Bird…"

The old endearment fell from his lips out of habit, and suddenly she was there, in his arms, with one hand at his chest, clutching his robe, the other wrapped around his left arm as if she were trying to prevent him from leaving. They were standing in the middle of the room, although he didn't remember moving or seeing her come toward him. He was too lost in her eyes, which were now bright with tears. She was staring into his face searchingly, and she finally pulled back a little as if she'd found what she had been looking for.

"You're…it's you."

He leaned down a notch, to stare at her and stroke her pink cheek. Her skin was even softer than he had remembered and he closed his eyes as he relished the feeling.

"Yeah, it's me."

"I…I was afraid that you might not be…well…you."

Her tears were falling freely now and he gently wiped them with his thumbs. He could see the guilt in her eyes at this admission and smiled wryly.

"Me too. And I have changed a lot, but I'm still me. You're still you?"

She nodded as her chin quivered.

"Of course you are."

He brought her closer and leaned his forehead down to rest against hers. They needed to talk, to say so many things, but at the moment, he had to pause to simply savor her nearness. They stood like that for seconds, or days—time had ceased to mean anything—and they simply were them, together.

Sirius was the one who finally broke the silence, leaning back to look down at her with a beaming grin. He had to blink at the brightness of her smile and dancing eyes.

"If I...if I kiss you, is there anybody that's going to be upset about that?"

She shook her head and started to speak, but that was all the encouragement he needed. With one hand on her still-small waist, and one hand behind her neck he kissed her. She started at first and then began kissing him back whole-heartedly. The warm sweetness of her kiss, of her, of their reunion was heating him up from the inside, much better than butterbeer.

She pulled back, to his dismay.

"There isn't anyone on your end that's going to be upset, is there?"

He barked a laugh.

"You mean like a cell-mate from Azkaban? No."

Anna scowled at him.

"You could've met some girl while you were on the run. You know: accused criminal on the run, seeks refuge in some farmer's barn and his daughter discovers him and goes to turn him in. Then of course, she would see his heart of gold and help him save the world."

Sirius cut her off with another kiss and laughed again. He hadn't laughed this much in a long time, and it felt unfamiliar, but wonderful. She was still trying to scowl at him, but the twist of her mouth told him she was losing.

"You're still just as ridiculous as ever. I'm glad to see it."

Any moment they could be interrupted by the others who were dying to see her. Sirius wasn't going to give her up willingly. He led her over to the settee, and they spent the next half-hour talking, his arm around her while she kept looking up at him in wonder. There were dozens of sentences started that were never finished, but neither of them bothered to notice. A war may still have been going on around them, the Ministry was going to the dogs, but this one small piece of their shattered world had been put back into place, and for the moment, that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you so much to my readers and especially those of you have reviewed! I'm sorry that this chapter is shorter, but it felt right to end it there. Due to the holidays, I will most likely not be posting any new chapters of this story until after the New Year. I posted a Christmas one-shot called _You Would Even Say it Glows_, about Sirius and Anna during their Hogwarts years. I've been feeling rather inspired by the Christmas season, so I may turn it into a collection of their Christmases over the years. Please give it a read and let me know what you think! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you!**


	7. Secrets, Lies, and Apologies

**Author's Note: Happy New Year! Thank you for all the reviews and follows! **

**Also, I know I've mentioned this before, but thought I should mention at the top of the chapter rather than the end, if you would like to read earlier snippets from Anna and Sirius's relationship in (mostly) happier times, please check out my collection of Christmas one-shots about them: You Would Even Say It Glows. **

_Disclaimer: Jo Rowling owns Harry Potter and I do not._

* * *

Anna didn't want to blink. She wasn't sure this was really happening. Just earlier this evening, she had been wondering if she would ever find Sirius, and now, here she was, held in his arms, sitting next to him in the front parlor of the home she had helped him leave years ago. It was a strange location for a homecoming, that was for sure. She couldn't stop staring at him. He did look different, older and more scarred, there was no denying that. But to Anna he was simply beautiful.

"So…what now?"

Sirius asked with his trademark directness. Anna shrugged in response.

"You tell me. I don't even know if I should be waiting for Ministry officials to come take me away for casting a patronus in front of a muggle," she said without thinking, then cringed, squeezing her eyes shut and wishing she could kick herself for her thoughtlessness. Sirius just barked a laugh and smirked at her.

"I think, of the two of us, you are not the one to be worried about on that front."

She shivered at the thought and bit her cheek to try to stop any tears from falling. Anna did not want Sirius to have to comfort her. She wanted to be strong for him. He was the one who had been through hell and back. He stopped this train of thought by rubbing her cheek and gently tilting it back so that he could look at her face.

"Hey. I don't want you to tiptoe around me. We've always been real with each other, without holding back, and I don't plan on stopping that just because we were apart for a while."

Anna nodded slightly, unable to look away from his eyes. It was odd, looking at him, being with him. It was so familiar and foreign at the same time, the same way that he was. His eyes were still the gray they had always been and they still held the same spark of intellect, but they also held a terrible sadness and the weariness of a much older man, rather than the laughter that used to hold. It made her feel petty for nursing her own loneliness over the past few years. At least she had had little pieces of Harry, students to care for, and at least she had had a reason to keep going. It made her question.

"How did you manage it?"

He cocked his head as he looked at her, bewildered.

"To do what?"

"How did you escape? How did you stay sane? I know you escaped because Wormtail was at Hogwarts, but how did you even know to care about that?"

Sirius lifted a hand and rubbed his brow thoughtfully.

"I don't exactly know how to explain it. I was innocent, and I knew that. But like I told Harry, that wasn't a happy thought. I still felt guilty about my part in the plan, and placing my trust in Peter instead of Remus. And I could still transform, so I would do that whenever…whenever the bad memories became…"

He trailed off, his eyes darkening and staring off into nothing. Unable to help herself, Anna leaned forward and kissed his cheek, stroking his hand as she did so. He leaned back toward her with a grateful sigh and rested his head atop hers, burying his nose in her hair and breathing deeply. She remembered how he used to transform during the first war, whenever he needed to stop being overwhelmed by grief and frustration for a time.

"Right, so, one day Fudge came to do an inspection. I asked him for his newspaper and he handed it to me. It had an article about Arthur Weasley winning a drawing, and the picture showed Wormtail, sitting on Ron's shoulder. I knew he was at Hogwarts with Harry and I had to get out to help, so I slipped through the bars as Padfoot and swam out."

Anna absorbed that for a moment.

"For Harry."

He nodded against her hair in response. She was unsure how to phrase her next question or even if it should be asked. Sirius pulled back to look at her and narrowed his eyes.

"Don't hold back now, Bird. Ask your question, I know you have one."

She blushed a little at being caught, opened her mouth but still paused, not wanting to cause him to dwell on his Azkaban days any more than necessary.

"Come on, Anna, spit it out," he whispered in her ear, his warm breath against her neck causing her to blink slowly and shiver in pleasure this time, rather than fear. For a moment she couldn't remember the question. He pulled back again, his eyes revealing his momentary surprise and then delight at her reaction. Anna's blush grew hotter as he smirked in a way that was very vintage Sirius, not bothering to hide his interest as his eyes roamed over her and finally came back up to rest on her face.

Neither of them hesitated this time. She met his heated kiss with an opened mouth one of her own, as he slid one hand down to her hip to caress it and tug her against his chest. His other hand moved to support her head and run his fingers through her hair. Her heart was racing and all she wanted to do was bring him closer and closer. He groaned softly and started to pull back. Anna tried to hold him against her and made a noise in protest as he grabbed her shoulders and held her away. Sirius chuckled as he took in her dazed but slightly disgruntled face.

"Sorry, love. I wouldn't stop if I didn't know that we're about to get interrupted."

Anna grunted. "So?"

His lips quirked.

"So, I don't think you really want Harry to walk in on us enjoying a heavy snog on the couch."

Anna thought about it for a moment, still not happy that he had pulled back, though she knew he had a point.

"I suppose not."

He gently cupped her face, and his eyes were smiling at her as they used to.

"Good to know that's still the same, huh?"

She blushed as she nodded and he leaned down to give her a short, sweet kiss.

"Okay, Bird, ask your question. For real, this time."

Question? She had to think hard to remember and cringed a little once she thought of it.

"Well, I always thought dementors sucked out all your happy memories."

His face sobered quickly as he nodded, brow furrowed.

"They do. But that's not really a question."

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was just wondering how you knew to get out to help Harry; how you knew he was important enough to do that. I mean, I assume he's a good memory."

Sirius stared at the carpet for long moments and Anna's heart sank. She should have kept that to herself.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"I'm going to answer. I told you not to hold back, and I'm not angry. I just don't… know how to explain it."

The haunted look in his eyes made her grab for his hand to remind her he was here now, with her and he took a deep breath and plunged ahead.

"I couldn't remember the better memories until I got further away, that's true. The bad memories though, they still let you know who's important to you. I would relive that night and feel the same fear I felt for Harry and for…and that fear told me that I loved him, that I had to protect him."

He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand absentmindedly as he continued to stare off.

"Same with the rest…I knew James and Lily were important because of how I felt finding their bodies…" he gulped.

"And I knew you were important because I would remember that night and beat myself up over not listening to you about Remus and Peter, for storming out like that…when they were taking me away I just kept thinking about deserting Harry and you. That was the last memory I left you with, and it could have been final."

He looked up at her, his eyes full of apology.

"I'm so sorry. I should have listened. I should have waited for you, and then…"

She cupped his face this time and pulled his head down slightly so that he could see her clearly.

"It wasn't the last. And even if it had been, it's not like that memory of you made up the whole of who you were to me. We had years of lovely memories before that. I knew you didn't mean it, and I knew that you instantly regretted it. I certainly didn't get any pleasure out of being proved right."

Sirius stared at her intensely, as if trying to gauge whether or not she was being honest.

"Do you—"

His question was cut off by a knock at the door. Both sighed and then shared a wry smile.

"Later," Anna mouthed and he nodded in reply.

"Come in," Sirius called out.

Remus's head popped in through an opening in the door and he gave them a sheepish look.

"Sorry, I don't think we can wait any longer."

Anna rolled her eyes teasingly at him as she waved him inside. Remus nearly fell as he was pushed from behind by the others waiting to get in the room, and she had to laugh at his startled face. She and Sirius both stood up, and he went immediately over to Harry. Molly and Arthur Weasley were closest to Anna. Arthur shook her hand, but Anna was surprised when his wife hugged her. The last time she had seen Molly had been at Gideon and Fabian's funeral. The two women had only ever been acquaintances at most, due to their age difference. But Molly's eyes were the same familiar kind, dark brown eyes that her brothers had. They were now fixed on her and they held a slight sheen of tears.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," Molly practically whispered.

"Uh, thank you, Molly. And thank you for taking care of Harry when I couldn't."

Molly whispered again, "You've done a wonderful job."

Anna felt her face heat up.

"I…don't know about that. But I tried to be there as much as I could."

Before she could reply, Anna was pulled aside by her old professor and given a very gentle but stiff hug. It wasn't something McGonagall usually did.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I've been rather worried these past couple of years."

Anna's lips quivered at the warmth of the slight reprimand.

"I'm sorry about that. I was looking for Sirius, and…"

"I understood, dear, it's alright. I just wanted you to know why I never said anything to them once I knew he was innocent."

Anna heard her uncle clear his throat from the doorway and her heart sped up, but she didn't lift her eyes to look at him. She still hadn't quite decided how to handle this reunion yet. It was one thing to forgive Remus, who had been acting out of a desire to do the right thing and truly believed his former headmaster always knew what to do. If Uncle Albus had supported Anna, had approved her plan, Remus would have too. Not to mention that her uncle's decision was made out of a cold calculation of what was best for the greater good, not out of Harry's best interest. Remus's had been made out of grief and anger at Sirius for his supposed betrayal. She knew also, if he were honest, he would have to admit that he had probably been a bit bitter that she seemingly chose to defend Sirius over keeping his friendship.

Remus caught her arm and leaned to whisper in her ear.

"We're all going to discuss Harry's future later—once he's not here. So you don't need to go into it now."

Anna raised her eyes to meet her friend's and nodded, though she was confused about why this was just coming up now. Either way, it took a slight weight off her shoulders, though it made giving him pardon no easier.

"My dear," her uncle called softly from the doorway. "May I please have a word?"

She caught Sirius's eye across the room and he nodded encouragement. She in turn nodded to her uncle, and stepped into the dark hallway after him.

He lit the torches as they entered the hall, causing her to blink at the sudden change. Her eyes swam and then adjusted to see her uncle standing in the hallway, ringing his hands. He looked like a young boy caught in wrongdoing, and it was an odd juxtaposition to his normal in-charge headmaster air that it tugged at her heart. His eyes were bright with tears as he looked at her and held out his hand tentatively. After a few awkward moments of silence, he finally spoke.

"I'm so…very sorry, my dear. I have no excuses. I can only apologize and ask your forgiveness."

The little girl inside her yearned to run into her beloved uncle's arms and tell him that of course he was forgiven, but the woman she had become still had a smarting heart that was hesitant to trust him. She lifted her eyes for the first time to meet his gaze shrewdly.

"Which thing are you apologizing for, exactly?"

Albus started as he was caught off guard by her question.

"I'm apologizing for the past fourteen years. For not believing you about Sirius and for leaving you no choice but escape. And I'm sorry for not coming after you."

This was what Anna had feared. She took a deep breath as her heart plummeted into her stomach and blinked back tears she hadn't realized were welling up in her eyes.

"We weren't apart for fourteen years because you didn't believe me about Sirius."

Uncle Albus's white eyebrows knit together as her voice cracked. She felt a pang as she realized how much he had aged in the past fourteen years. In her memory, he had always seemed old, but he seemed truly ancient now and it caused her heart to ache even more at the thought that they might not have very much time to make these things right between them.

"We were apart because Harry needed me, and you sent him away."

He opened his mouth to protest and she held up a hand for silence. It was bizarre for Anna to feel that she had the upper hand in a conversation with her uncle. It was something he rarely conceded to anyone, and she needed to keep it, at least until he understood that it didn't matter why he had done what he did.

"Regardless of Lily's blood, you had the ability to protect him in other ways, and you know it. If he couldn't have been safe elsewhere, you wouldn't have him here now. I'm sure you did trust the Dursleys to take care of him at the time, but at the first whiff of trouble, you should have found a different solution. You didn't even bother to check in, Uncle Albus. I know because I was waiting for you to."

His eyes held tears of regret.

"Harry has to stay there. It is, regrettably, the only way—"

Anna heard an echo in her memory of her Grandfather's voice, _"Secrets and lies."_

"No. We aren't going to have this conversation again. I've heard every argument in your book, and it's not going to change my mind to hear you repeat it. Especially considering that you didn't watch him grow up like I did. He has suffered more than you know. More than he had to. And that is on you, Uncle Albus."

He briefly pinched his nose and swallowed.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else we could do."

She walked forward and touched his arm.

"You could listen to others. You could choose to share the truth and admit that maybe you aren't right in this case. Just think about it. We have time to discuss it later."

Anna looked in his eyes and couldn't decipher the guarded look she found there. She hoped that he would at least consider what she said, but who knew the inner workings of his mind? She turned back toward the parlor and he caught her shoulder and enfolded her in his arms. Anna hesitated then returned the hug as she felt the tremor in his arms and gave in, just for a moment, to the familiar feeling of love and safety she used to feel with him. Then he let her go and whispered as she moved back to join the others.

"Welcome home, Anna."


	8. While You Sleep

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading, following and reviewing! I hit 50 follows last chapter and that has made my week (Yes, I am a dork). Please read and review-I am not one who minds if you read and don't review but I really do appreciate any comments, questions, and constructive criticism if you have them to give. Thank you and I hope you enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: Jo Rowling owns Harry Potter and I do not._

* * *

Sirius, she's asleep," Molly whispered to him.

Sirius looked down to see that Anna had indeed fallen asleep against his shoulder, with her soft hand still in his. It was understandable, it was nearly two o'clock in the morning and she had surely had quite a long day.

"There's no need to whisper, Molly," Remus chuckled. "She won't wake."

The two men shared a fond smile, knowing the truth in that. Anna was a notoriously deep sleeper. James had claimed once that she'd slept through an entire battle during their early Order days, sitting under his invisibility cloak, when the two of them had been on watch, although she had hotly contested his version. He could tell she hadn't been lying, but it didn't seem like James had been either. Of course, having experienced firsthand how comatose she could seem, it was entirely possible that she had no idea that it had happened.

The red-head looked at them skeptically.

"It's true, Molly. She sleeps like the dead. It's really a bit frightening."

"Alright, well, what do you want to do? I made up the room just down the hall from yours, the one where Tonks occasionally sleeps when she doesn't want to go home."

Sirius frowned slightly. He didn't like the thought of her sleeping in Regulus's bed. He didn't really want Tonks in there, either, but this was on a whole different level. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Molly that he would just take her to his room. However, Anna wasn't likely to thank him for that, given the number of people in the house, Harry particularly, and the fact that they hadn't even spoken about anything of the sort. The thought of separating from her, though, caused a physical pain to shoot through him.

"We'll stay here."

"Sirius…"

"Nothing questionable, Molly, but I can let go of her at the moment. I just got her back."

He pulled Anna more tightly against him, shifting the end of her ponytail to the side, and raised pleading eyes to look at Molly. She appeared to be trying to hold back a smile, but then nodded and left the room.

"So what do you think she said to him?"

Sirius squinted at Remus for a moment, not sure what he meant. The lateness of the hour was beginning to get to him, too, but his pulse and mind were racing too quickly at the moment to sleep.

"To Dumbledore, I mean."

Sirius shrugged, at a loss.

"I don't know. We didn't talk about him at all. You might have a better idea about that than I would."

"She looked a bit disappointed when she came back in."

"I know. We'll have to have a meeting tomorrow—the three of us, I mean."

"Did you two get a chance to talk?"

Sirius shook out his hair.

"Yeah, but…not like we need to. Not enough. We've got fourteen years to cover, so I'm not really sure how we do that. I didn't really get to find out anything about what she's been doing, she just asked me questions about stuff."

Before Remus could ask more, Molly came back in, this time carrying a thick green blanket. Taken aback, Sirius grabbed it from her outstretched hand.

"Thanks, Molly."

"You're welcome. Goodnight Sirius, Remus. Sleep well."

Sirius stared after her smiling exit, a bit bewildered. The two of them were barely civil at best.

"It's because she's been watching you with Anna. It humanizes you a bit."

He cocked his head at Remus's answer to his unspoken question.

"What does that even mean?" He asked, attempting to keep his outrage out of his voice. Of course he was human, for crying out loud!

"I just meant that she's thought of you as an evil madman for fourteen years and she's having some trouble revising that. It makes her see who you really are," Remus finished apologetically.

"Oh."

Sirius didn't know what to say to that. In general, he'd gotten used to the idea that the world at large thought of him as a mass murderer, since he could blame that on the ineptitude of the Ministry. He'd always been a rebel, after all. When it came to specific people however, it still stung that those who knew him could believe he was capable of any of his supposed crimes. Not that he'd ever been close with Molly, but still. He had suffered a lot as a teenager by distancing himself from his parents and their ideals, and how anyone could think it was an act or that his friendship with James had been a lie…they had been like brothers. Perhaps there was a bit too much prejudice, even on the right side. The thought was not a pleasant one.

"What did you talk about then?"

Moony was awfully chatty tonight. Sirius supposed he was also a little revved up after the evening's events.

"Just…how I escaped. Dementors."

Remus grimaced.

"Lovely conversation."

"Well, no. But she had questions, and…"

The werewolf grinned at him, and Sirius thought he knew why. Not that Anna would push Sirius if she thought he didn't want to answer, but she had an insatiable curiosity that was hard to deny. If something interested her, she had to know about it. She would ask a million questions if that's what it took to satisfy her. It was most likely the only reason she'd done so well during Hogwarts, although she was never one to study all that much in a conventional manner, fortunately for him. That and the fact that she was bloody brilliant.

"You totally kissed her."

Sirius looked at Remus in disbelief. Apparently they had been on different wavelengths. It was like his friend was high after everything that had happened. It was out of character for Remus to be so nosy. It was much more like, well, him. This conversation had degraded to the point that it was reminiscent of their Hogwarts days. His friend shrugged in response, not seeming apologetic at all.

"I just want you both to be happy."

"Of course I kissed her. I haven't seen her in fourteen years and I'm in love with her."

"So, no boyfriend then?"

"Nope."

"Are you two together then…?"

"We didn't really get to that, Moony. Do you want to get to the point of all these questions?"

Remus took a deep breath and released it slowly as he looked at him closely. Apparently the third degree did have a purpose this time.

"You're not going to push her away this time, are you?"

There it was. It had been niggling in the back of Sirius's mind and Remus had to bring it to the surface. Sirius stared off to the right as he absorbed the blow of the question and considered his answer.

Outside the Marauders, Anna, and Lily, no one had been able to tell, but Sirius was not truly as self-assured as he had always seemed. Sure, he and James strutted around Hogwarts as if they owned it, but when it came to more personal aspects of his life, he'd always felt as though he was lacking. He didn't really know how to be in a loving relationship, being from his family. On top of that, dating him had made her even more of a target than she already was. It was why he had taken so long to decide to commit to her permanently. She had always laughed off his concerns and maybe she was right that the Dumbledore name and Order membership had made her bull's-eye as big as it was going to get. But he could never fully shake the feeling that by loving her he was putting her in harm's way, not to mention the fact that she was far too good for him, too smart and pure, from a warm, devoted family. From those who fought against Voldemort all along instead of those who had welcomed him with open arms and pocketbooks.

What could he say now? Even if he had been wrong back then, being with him was definitely more dangerous now. Not because of Voldemort, since he was pretty sure their position as Harry's godparents made them top of the list no matter what their names were, but because of the rest of the world. She would be ostracized because of him—had already been ostracized because of him for the past fourteen years. Could he really do that to her?

He probably shouldn't, but he didn't think he could keep himself away from her now. Not that she'd let him push her away, anyway. This might all be a moot point anyway. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk about it yet. Maybe she didn't want him, anyway.

Sirius was pulled out of his reverie by Remus clapping him on the arm and bidding him goodnight. He wished Remus had wished until tomorrow to bring up these questions, because he could no longer push them off now.

Shaking himself, Sirius took a good look at his remaining companion. He pulled back to take a long look now that there was no one to watch him study her. Anna didn't look very much like the picture Sirius had in his mind of a muggle school teacher, not that he had any reason to believe it was accurate. Her fine dark brown locks were still pulled back in a ponytail that was now in danger of falling out from his earlier assault. She was wearing a white and green dress that she had tucked up under her legs, in a very ladylike way, before she had fallen asleep. It made him smile just to look at her.

Realizing she was going to be a bit uncomfortable after sleeping that way all night, Sirius gently shifted her so that he could reach her feet to slip off her shoes. He lay down on the couch and tipped her into what he hoped was a comfortable position, tucked between him and the back of the couch, using his chest as a pillow as he lay down. He spread the blanket over her since her bare arms looked a little chilly and flicked his wand, extinguishing the torches. His heart tugged as she sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer against him.

For a while, he just gazed in amazement at the part of her face that he could see, occasionally stroking her cheek. She was so beautiful. She always had been, but it was even more apparent to him now that he'd been deprived the chance to look at her for so long. Although it had given her a few shallow lines, and he suspected that the dark brown hair might have been hiding some graying hair, she looked very much the same, only more lovely somehow. It may have been that the separation had made her that much more precious to him, or maybe it was that maturity had somehow softened her, but he didn't think she had ever looked more beautiful. He never could let her go before, and he wasn't going to be able to this time.

He gently pulled her hair loose and it fell down all around her face and into his. Her hair was longer, probably to the middle of her back, and still soft as he ran his fingers through it. It was like a part of him that had lain dormant for years was being reawakened by her very presence. The familiar scent of her shampoo surrounded him and called a host of warm memories to rush to his mind. He closed his eyes and let them take him over as he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Sirius was rudely awakened by the sound of a crash followed by his hideous mother's screams. He jerked as he realized there was a weight on his chest and his arm was completely asleep. She had sprawled over him at some point in the night to where she was laying fully on top of him. Blue eyes were twinkling down at him as though she'd been awake for some time. She was usually up pretty early in the morning. Despite his annoyance with his mother's continued shrieks, which it sounded like Remus was trying to put a stop to, he had to smile up at her make-up smudged face. He had missed waking up with her. Her lips met his, still smiling.

"Watching me sleep?" he teased her as she pulled back slightly.

She blushed and bit her lip.

"I missed waking up to you."

Reaching a hand up to brush her hair out of her face, he couldn't keep the smirk off his face.

"Me too, even in spite of your morning breath."

Mouth open in outrage, she flicked him on the underside of his nose.

"Dammit, that hurt! What are you trying to do to me, woman?"

Uh-oh, he was getting the eyebrow raise. He grabbed her hips to hold her down as she tried to get up.

"I was only teasing."

She scoffed in response.

"Merlin, you're hot when you're indignant."

Her eyes flashed to his.

"Really? That's what you're going with?"

"That wasn't actually an apology, just an honest observation."

He pulled her down so that her ear was next to his mouth. She didn't try to stop him, so he knew they were good.

"I had forgotten how gorgeous you are when you're sleeping next to me."

Though he couldn't see them, he knew her eyes had rolled, but she did snuggle against him for a moment before rolling off the couch.

"Hey!" he called in protest.

"I'm not angry, just starving. I've been awake for a while. What do I look like? There aren't any mirrors in here."

Sirius sat up now to get a look at her and caught his breath. Her hair was a rather tangled mess. Her cheeks were still flushed from his teasing a moment ago, her eyes were bright. Her dress was bunched up and one of the straps had fallen down so that her shoulder was exposed. She looked like they had been doing quite a bit more than they actually had and it was making his pulse race. He gulped, trying to get a grip on himself.

"What? How bad?"

Sirius slowly shook himself.

"No—you look incredible. You just look a bit rumpled and…"

"And what?"

"Well…sort of…overexcited."

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at his statement, knowing what he meant, and she raised her hands to cover them. She ran over to her suitcase and started yanking things out. He groaned and heaved himself into a seated position.

"Accio hairbrush."

Her hairbrush flew out of the suitcase into his hand, and she turned to him, cheeks still pink. He beckoned to her as she looked at him hesitantly.

"Come on. I've done this before and I can see you."

Relenting, she came to sit next to him on the couch. She sighed as he began to pull the brush through her hair. Pulling out her wand, she began to straighten out the wrinkles on the skirt of her dress. Then she fiddled with her face, wiping smeared makeup, he assumed. Once finished, she tilted back to lean into his touch and gave a slight noise of protest when he was finished.

He cocked an eyebrow at her as she turned back to him.

"Hey, you're the one who's hungry. If you want to stay here, I'm good with that."

"But…Harry…"

He nodded, following her to the door, and paused, not even a step behind her.

"Oh, wait, one second, um…"

He reached out to pull her dress strap back into position. Unable to help himself, he briefly pressed his lips to her collarbone and closed his eyes at the feel of her. Her eyes were on him as he shakily pulled back and when he opened them, she turned around and gazed at him intently. She stepped closer until she was almost pressed against him.

"Good to go?"

She whispered against his neck, hands on his chest, and then she turned to leave the room. Tossing a glance over her shoulder, she gave him sultry smirk that weakened his knees. Damn, she was going to wind him up on purpose. He knew he wasn't going to get off scot-free for that remark about her breath. Women were awfully vindictive, he thought, as he followed her into the hallway where his mother's cries were finally subsiding. Yes, they were vindictive in more ways than one.

* * *

Anna took in her surroundings as they strode down the hall toward the kitchen. This house was truly creepy, and it was made worse by the musty unkempt feeling it had taken on in the intervening years. It was dark enough that she had to illuminate her wand just to see that her watch read 8:00. They passed a set of curtains randomly hanging in the hall, and she looked at Sirius in question.

"That's where the racket was coming from. It's a portrait of my mother. Want a peek?"

"Ugh, no thanks," she shuddered in response. Sirius's mother had been a right old hag and they were better off without her. Then a thought crossed her mind and she brightened.

"How's she taking her precious house being tainted by all of us half-breeds and blood-traitors?"

He barked a laugh.

"And a muggleborn or two, even. She's taking it beautifully. By which I mean to say that I find her extreme distress very satisfying."

Throwing him a grin, she stepped into the kitchen. It wasn't very full; only Molly, Arthur and two other occupants were inside. One was a girl, about Harry's age, sitting at the far end of the table. She had bushy brown hair and had her nose buried in an Ancient Runes textbook. The other, sitting on the near side of the table, was an interesting sight. She had bright pink hair and was practically falling asleep into her plate of eggs and sausages.

"Good morning!" Molly called to them brightly, standing at the stove.

"Morning, Molly. Do you need any help?"

A cough behind her followed this offer and she turned to look at Sirius, who was pretending to stare intently at the ceiling.

"In need of a cough drop, are you?"

"No, but there might be a need for some other stronger potions if you help…no offense, love."

Anna raised her chin to him defiantly.

"I have fed myself for fourteen years and haven't starved or poisoned myself yet, thank you very much."

"Yes, well…I could say the same, but I was still eating rats. It's alright, I don't mind if you can't cook. You're beautiful and smart, so you don't really need to be good at housekeeping."

"Oh, so are you saying that I'm not pretty or smart, Sirius?"

Molly chimed in from behind them. She was looking at Sirius with a cocked eyebrow.

Spluttering, Sirius tried to backpedal as both women looked at him expectantly.

"I…no, I just uh…"

He looked between the two of them as if deciding which to avoid offending. Molly took pity on him and cracked a smile.

"I was just teasing, Sirius. Breakfast?"

Arthur came up to kiss his wife's cheek and bid the rest of them goodbye.

"Good luck, Sirius!" he called over his shoulder as he left.

After they took their plates from Molly and turned to sit down, Anna realized that they had now caught the attention of the others in the room. The girl with pink hair was grinning at her now, giving away her identity.

"Dora? Is that you?"

"Actually, I go by Tonks now," she said as she hugged Anna tightly. She hadn't seen her since she was about nine or ten.

"Wow, she likes you. I thought she was going to take my arm off when I called her that, and I was in prison."

"Auror, huh?" Anna noted, taking in her robes and ignoring Sirius for the moment. "Very impressive."

"Thanks."

They sat down at the table, across from the girl, who was now throwing them furtive glances while pretending to read. It made Anna want to laugh—she was clearly trying to pretend not to be interested and failing miserably. She turned to the girl with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Anna. I'm Harry's godmother."

The girl shook her bushy hair out of her face and smiled shyly back.

"Yes, Harry told me. I'm Hermione Granger. One of—"

"One of Harry's best friends, yes, I've heard a bit about you. You're quite a remarkable student from what I hear."

"Remus says she's the brightest of their age," Sirius cut in, through a mouthful of sausage. Anna shoved his face away, despite her chuckles. She noticed Hermione's cheeks were pink, but she was clearly pleased at the compliment.

"Harry says you were a teacher?"

Anna nodded in reply, her mouth full of egg.

"What did you teach at a muggle school?"

Tonks cut in, slumped over her plate still. Anna had thought she had fallen back asleep.

"Music and Art. That was the only way I could be in Harry's class every year. The music and art teacher rotates to all the different grades."

Hermione nodded, "That's the way it was at my primary school. Did you know about muggle art and music before?"

"Yes, I did. My mother was a muggleborn and she taught me to play the piano, and I've always sung. The art stuff I had to learn how to teach. I could have taught the regular classes, since it's really the same stuff I used to teach to wizard children, if it weren't for Harry moving up through the grades. We also thought it was safer to stick with the arts in order not to be found out."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked and Anna realized they hadn't really gotten a chance to talk about what she had been doing.

"Well, in the muggle world, the music and art teachers are often seen as a bit more eccentric. So if I said or did something too wizard-y, it could just be chalked up to an artistic temperament."

Hermione's eyebrows were raised, and it was plain that she was impressed with how much she had thought out her plan. She wasn't surprised when another question followed.

"You said you taught wizard children?"

"Oh, yes, that's what I did before. Wizarding families usually homeschool, as I'm sure you know, but those where the mother and father both work outside the home or those who are very well off usually hire teachers. It was also my in for the Order, keeping my eyes and ears open in their homes."

Hermione nodded, her book forgotten.

"Good morning!"

She heard Molly cry out again and turned to see who was entering. It was Remus, not quite looking awake yet. Molly handed him a mug as he quietly greeted her, then he moved toward the table and slumped down on Hermione's side, across from Tonks. Looking at his drawn face, she remembered that it was nearing the full moon. For fourteen years, she had still been unable to shake the habit of checking the lunar phases, feeling somehow closer to Remus by doing so.

Sirius got her attention by poking her in the hip, under the table. She looked at him and he flicked his eyes from hers toward Tonks. Anna leaned forward to grab a piece of toast from the platter and saw that she was now wide awake and blushing as she looked at Remus.

"Good morning, Remus," Anna smiled at his familiar sleepy face as he greeted her in return.

"Morning, everyone. Morning Nymphadora."

Glancing at Tonks, Anna saw that her cheeks had darkened even more at Remus's greeting. She shared a look with Sirius, who quirked the corner of his mouth and nodded almost imperceptibly. Remus appeared oblivious, but it was very interesting that he had singled Tonks out, especially in his less than alert state. Unfortunately, Tonks had taken that moment to reach for the sugar and when their hands met, they both jerked away like they had been shocked, and Tonks tipped over backward in her chair. Sirius had pulled Anna out of the way before she could get caught up in it, and he leaned down to help Tonks to her feet. Everyone else had taken the accident in stride, so she had to assume that Tonks had not grown into her grace, as Andromeda had claimed she would. Anna tried not to stare at the poor girl as she made an excuse and rushed out of the room.

"I'll go check on her. Hermione, would you go and wake Ginny, Ron, and the twins? Harry had a late night, so don't bother him if he's asleep."

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."

Molly followed Hermione out of the kitchen a moment later, and the three friends were left alone. Anna turned to Remus to see that his cheeks were slightly tinged pink and he wouldn't look directly at her. She certainly wasn't going to let him off the hook, and he probably knew it. Waving her wand at the door with a silencing charm, she smiled at Sirius and they both turned to the werewolf determinedly.

"Well, that was incredibly cute. She's clearly got a crush on you."

"I've told you, Moony. You know Anna's never wrong."

"Passing over that incredibly transparent attempt to get back in my good graces after denigrating my cooking skills; Remus, what's the deal with the two of you?"

Remus shook his head while absentmindedly flicking the sugar back into the bowl a bit at a time with his wand.

"Anna, I can't. I can't go there, and you know it. It's just…she's so…"

Remus huffed in exasperation as the two of them were now grinning at him fully.

"She's too young, she can't possibly think that we could be…and then there's the matter of my problem."

"Still with the age-old excuse, huh?"

Sirius nodded and rolled his eyes at her. Remus never believed he deserved anything good, and there was very little talking him into taking it until he was knee-deep in it already. It had been that way with their friendships, and with the boys becoming animagi. Once they showed up on a full moon, he hadn't been able to send them away. Anna knew they would have to drop it for now, but she certainly wasn't giving up on them just yet.

"Well, we'll see."

As silence settled over the trio, a sense of déjà vu suddenly settled over Anna. The three of them having breakfast together like they had so many times in her flat after the Potters had gotten married. Sirius had grabbed her hand, and she reached across to Remus, jogging him out of his reverie, and took his hand as well. He smiled at her as she laid her head on Sirius's shoulder. She had her boys back.


	9. The Pain in the Past

**Author's Note: Thank you everyone for reading!**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._**

* * *

"So," Remus began. "What do we do about Harry?"

It was after dinner that night. The day had been spent meeting Harry's friends as well as a few Order members who had popped in, and getting reacquainted with those she'd already known. The three of them had to wait to discuss Harry's living arrangements until Harry was in bed, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop. Anna agreed with this rationale, but at the same time, she was uneasy. There were things she knew about Harry's childhood that she didn't really feel she could freely share.

"Anna, can you tell us a bit about his childhood? What all do you know? Some things he said earlier this summer really disturbed us."

Anna looked between Remus and Sirius, trying to decide how to handle this and finally stood up.

"Look," she said, "I'm not sure I'm comfortable telling all. Some stuff, sure…but I think I need Harry's permission first. It would be much easier to show you than to explain. Harry was never very forthcoming."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Remus frowned.

"Do you have a pensieve, Sirius? Is there one around here by any chance?"

"That would work…but I don't know if we actually have one. We can't borrow Dumbledore's since we're trying to discuss it without his presence. I'll go poke around, and ask Kreacher for help if I can't find anything."

"Okay, thanks. I need to talk to Harry in the meantime."

"Why? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of doing this at night?" Remus frowned.

"Well…maybe. But I can't just share things that Harry told me in confidence. Especially not when he was just a little boy who trusted a teacher, without having any idea who I truly was. It's not fair to him, Remus, not without permission."

The two nodded their agreement, although Remus was clearly skeptical. Anna strode up the staircase.

Anna knocked at the door of the room Harry and Ron were sharing. Poking her head in at the call to enter, she saw all the teens crowded around in a sort of powwow. They looked as though they had been attempting to hide something and stopped at realizing it was her.

"Harry, can I borrow you for a few minutes?"

She smiled at the others and added, "Molly's planning on coming up to check on you in about five minutes, so I would keep anything valuable out of sight."

She winked at their shocked faces before closing the door. Harry laughed when they heard the twins say brightly in unison, "We knew we liked her!"

Gesturing to Harry to follow, she led the way to a small parlor on the same level that Sirius said should be safe for them to sit in briefly. They both peered around warily first before sitting down, and Anna realized that Harry had been made aware of the oddities of the house. Poking her wand behind a chair cushion to check for doxies first, she took a seat.

"Am I in trouble or something?"

Anna shook her head and smiled.

"No. Should you be?"

He smirked back at her, but didn't say anything. Her smile widened at the James-like expression.

"I have a favor to ask you. You aren't going to like it, I'm afraid."

A frown replaced Harry's smirk. She looked at him apologetically, not really wanting to breach the subject, but knowing it was necessary.

"Harry, we're meeting tonight, Remus, Sirius, the Weasleys and me, about your living situation. I'll be straight with you: we all want you out of Petunia's house. The problem is that my uncle does not. He believes that you are safer there."

Hands clenched, Harry's breathing was hard, and he was clearly trying to keep his temper in check. Hmm. Maybe there had been some truth to him pitching a fit at his friends earlier in the day. She had heard a passing remark from Fred (or was it George?), which she had disregarded since it would be out of character, but now she wondered. Anna narrowed her eyes at him in concern.

"Look, Harry, we're going to fight as hard as we can—that's what I've come to ask you, though. We need information in order to sway Uncle Albus."

Harry's eyes widened with anxiety as he twisted his hands.

"Am I going to have to answer questions or something about them? I just really…I try to forget when I'm not with them."

"Not at the moment, no. I want to share some of what I know about your childhood with the others. If you don't want me to, though, I understand, and I won't do it, Harry. I respect your right to privacy."

It would cost Anna dearly not to share what she knew Harry had experienced, and could even put a stop to their progress in getting him removed from the Dursleys' care, but Anna meant what she said. Harry deserved input—she only had information to divulge because she had known him when he was young enough that he hadn't yet built up his protective barriers.

Harry stared off for a moment and finally gave a short nod.

"You can do it. But, please…just the people you mentioned. And I don't want anyone to be different around me afterward. I don't want anyone's pity or for them to tiptoe around me."

Anna nodded gravely. It was more likely that he would be smothered by all the attention they would want to give him. She would try to hold them off, but having seen Molly in action, she wasn't sure it would do any good.

"Of course, Harry. I'll let them know to treat you the same. I do know, though, Sirius at least is going to want to talk to you about what he sees. Is that alright?"

"I don't mind. Not when it's the two of you."

At this, Anna was unable to restrain herself and she rushed forward to hug him. He clutched her tightly in return before pulling back, blushing and embarrassed.

"Good night, Harry," she ruffled his hair, and it stood on end just like James'. "Go have fun. Just remember to have the twins silence the door if you're being rambunctious."

Harry gave her a falsely innocent look before bidding her goodnight and heading back up the stairs. Molly wouldn't appreciate her enabling the teenagers to stay up and talk, potentially about the war or prank-planning, but Anna disagreed. This was the time of their lives where they should be up chatting and laughing at all hours of the night. If Molly wanted them to be normal teenagers, as she so often said, she couldn't begrudge them that, especially with the pressures of the battles to come crowding in around them. As far as the war, they were all going to be in it, whether Molly wanted them to or not. She just didn't understand yet.

* * *

Sirius found the pensieve rather easily, inside the closet next to his parents' rooms. The last places he would want to enter were his parents' rooms, which is why it hadn't already been found. Trying to lift it, he found that it was incredibly heavy, so he levitated it and carefully made his way back down the several flights of stairs to the kitchen, where he deposited it gently on the table to stare gloomily into its depths.

Now that the pensieve had been found, dread settled into the pit of his stomach. He was not only going to have to hear about the hardships Harry had faced, but actually _see_ them. It was terrifying.

Remus entered the room and clapped him on the back, breaking his train of thought. He stood on the other side of the table. Sirius glanced up and met Remus's blue-eyed intent look. He saw his own fears mirrored back at him by his friend. Remus opened his mouth to speak when they were interrupted by Arthur and Molly returning.

Sirius turned to see them both staring at the pensieve.

"What…are we doing with that, exactly?"

"Anna wants to show us a memory or two, rather than having to explain everything."

Arthur nodded in understanding at Remus's answer. They all stood there for a moment, not speaking. There was an oppressive feeling among the foursome, and Sirius assumed they feared what they would see as he did. Anna came back and nodded at Sirius when he caught her eye. She looked around at the group and appeared to realize that they were all waiting for her lead.

"Okay. I've thought of a couple of memories, but really I just think it's going to take this one. How do you want to do this?"

When no one answered, Anna raised her eyebrows at him and then at the others in turn.

"Are you sure you actually want to do this? You don't have to, you know, I can tell you…I just thought, if we're trying to convince Uncle Albus, it would help."

"No, dear, you're right," Molly spoke up. "I think we're all just…afraid."

Remus caught Sirius's eye again and nodded. They would have to just go. Anna and Harry had already lived this, and what kind of Gryffindor men were they if they couldn't even get up the courage to face what the two of them already had? They turned to Anna as one.

She looked back at their determined expressions and lifted her wand to her temple, pulling out a shimmering strand and placing it gently in the pensieve. Sirius could see what looked like a classroom floating in the misty liquid. He looked at her expectantly and she gestured toward the bowl. Sirius took a deep breath and plunged his head forward into the water. He had a brief, crazy flash of déjà vu where he remembered doing this same thing, only it was in a tub, bobbing for apples on a long ago Halloween.

He fell into the memory, down against a dusty tile floor. Eyes squinted against the bright sunlight streaming through the wall of windows, the first things he saw were bright papers hanging on the wall. He heard the others around him now, and stood up. There were small, blue plastic desks sitting in neat rows, as well as a large wooden one at the front, but they were all empty.

He looked to Anna, about to ask, but she held up her hand to point at the door. A moment later, a tiny version of his godson walked in, and Sirius felt a tug at his heart. It was odd, this sense of both joy and sadness at the same time. It was good to see Harry. He was such a cute little boy, but was clearly undernourished and wearing clothes that were much too big for him, even then. Like now, Sirius realized. He would have to do something about that.

Harry went straight to sit in front of the teacher's desk and sat there, fidgeting, smoothing a piece of paper against the surface of the child-sized desk. A moment later, he heard footsteps and turned back to the door to see that it was Anna, a stack of papers and books in her hands. Her face looked weary, but when she saw the room's other occupant, it broke into a smile.

"Hey, Harry," she moved to the front desk and sat her papers on the right side of the desk. A drawer squeaked as she pulled it open and pulled out two brown paper sacks. She handed one to Harry. Pushing a small nameplate aside that Sirius could see read "Ms. Barry" in cheap gold print, she sat on the front part of the desk, so that she and Harry were close together. It was their lunch, he realized. Why was she bringing Harry his lunch? They chatted as they ate their sandwiches and apples, and Sirius moved closer to hear their discussion.

"It's alright, Harry, you can tell me that kind of stuff."

"The other kids…they all think it's because of me. Like maybe I made her hair turn blue. But I couldn't do that."

Anna looked at him, and Sirius could see the thoughts whirling in her eyes.

"You aren't weird, Harry. You're special."

"Uncle Vernon says I'm a freak."

"Well, Vernon can take that and sh—um, that is, _share," _Sirius had to snort at her slip and her terrible attempt at a cover up,_ "_it with someone who'll listen. I never will, you can always tell me anything. Just…if anything else out of the ordinary happens around you, tell me instead of telling them."

"Because they won't understand?"

Anna nodded in response, taking a sip of her milk.

"They never do understand."

Harry looked down, frowning at his sandwich. It looked as though he was weighing his words carefully.

"Mrs. Fletcher got me in trouble today."

"Why? What happened? Mrs. Fletcher seems to like you."

"She didn't like my picture."

"Is that it?," Anna asked, pointing at the paper Harry had smoothed on the desk earlier.

Harry nodded, but didn't move to hand her the paper, so she walked over to see it. Her brow furrowed as she bent over him to see it.

"I don't see anything wrong with it, but maybe you were supposed to draw something else. What were you supposed to make a picture of?"

"Yeah, she said I didn't follow destructions."

She smiled at the childish misspeak and her eyes twinkled at him, "Instructions, Harry."

"Right, those. It's my room."

Sirius watched in alarm as Anna's eyes went from twinkly to dark, empty blue, her face went rigid and her hands gripped the back of Harry's desk until her knuckles were white.

_Bang!_

Harry and Anna both, as well as the observers save older Anna, instinctively ducked against the sound. Sirius turned to see what had caused it and saw that a vase on Anna's desk had exploded. He looked back to her face to see that her lips were stark white. That had been her accidental magic. That was nearly unheard of at her age. He tried to get nearer to see the picture, but with Anna and Harry bending over it, it was impossible. He looked back at the older version of Anna, but she just gestured for him to wait and pursed her lips.

"Never mind that vase; I shouldn't have put it on the edge of the desk."

Harry looked up at her with an almost calculating look, but she was still fixated on his drawing. Closing her eyes, she tried to compose herself.

"Harry…is this…is this really? This is where you sleep?"

Harry squinted, seemingly unsure about what she meant.

"Yes. I told Mrs. Fletcher, but she just got mad. Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad at you, Harry," Anna looked down at him finally, smiling to calm him despite the concern in her eyes.

A bell sounded at that moment, and Harry jumped up to go.

"Can I have this, Harry?"

"I was supposed to throw it out."

"That's okay, Harry. I'll just keep it."

Harry nodded, and then waved, his messy black hair bobbing as he ran out to the hallway. Anna picked up the paper and went to sit at her desk, not even seeming to notice the tiny glass shards covering the surface. Surreptitiously grasping her wand from under her sleeve , she waved it, causing the door to slam shut before walking around to sit in her teacher's chair behind the desk. Sirius moved to position himself behind her, and the others followed.

"Shit, Petunia," younger Anna said in a choked voice.

She buried her head in her lap, cradling it in her hands and Sirius was finally able to see the picture. There were stairs, with a door in the space underneath. The door was open, and all Sirius could make out was a dangling light bulb and what looked like it might be the edge of a cot. It took a moment to put the pieces together with the picture and what had been said, and once he did, the bile rose in his throat and his knees buckled. The scene swirled in front of his eyes, and he thought he was losing consciousness until he realized he was being pulled out of the memory.

Sirius swayed and then felt a sharp shove against his shoulders. It registered that Remus had pushed him into one of the kitchen chairs—a bit more roughly than necessary.

"It's…it's…it…" Arthur gave up trying to describe what it was and sat down himself, pulling Molly down beside him as she wept into his shoulder.

Sirius took several deep breaths, trying to make sure he had a firm grip on consciousness before addressing this issue that seemed born of a nightmare. He felt a cool hand on his face and opened his eyes to see dark blue ones watching him with apprehension.

"I tried…you have to know…I tried to get him out. I reported them to Social Services, but the protective charms keep anyone from removing Harry from that home without Uncle Albus' or the Dursleys' say so. The muggles couldn't investigate or do anything because of the magic that was supposed to protect him, and the Ministry wouldn't because he told them not to investigate, that it was under control. I tried…"

"You think we're mad at you?" Remus asked incredulously. She was now sitting between the two Marauders, staring at the table.

"I…I'm mad at me. But madder at my uncle and at Voldemort…"

"We all made mistakes, but you have done everything in your power. No one could expect more than that," Remus shook his head. "I should've listened to you. You knew it was going to be bad, and I just didn't think it could possibly be like this."

"You have to show Dumbledore," Arthur broke in. "There's no way he can stay in that house. Even though he has a room now, that they would shove a small child in a cupboard means they can't be trusted—no one could argue with that, not even him."

Sirius reached up to grasp her hand and she started at his touch.

"Harry doesn't blame you," he whispered, for her ears only. "And neither do I."

Searching his eyes, she finally dipped her head in acknowledgment. They sat there like that, no one speaking, for quite some time. Finally, Molly cleared her throat and looked at Anna tentatively.

"Do you know if…do you think they ever…hurt him?"

Anna shook her head, and Sirius's heart started again after ceasing for a few beats.

"I can't say that they never tried, and I wouldn't put it past Vernon, at least. But I thought of that as soon as I found him, so he's had some powerful protective charms on him specific to Petunia and Vernon ever since. If they try to—" her eyes closed in pain, "lash out at him, they'll miss. If they try to grab onto him, they'll get a painful shock."

Sirius didn't know whether to be relieved at that or not. It was awful that there was that necessity, but thank goodness she had been there to do it. He searched her profile as she sat there, spouting these uncomfortable truths that none of them had wanted to hear. He felt a surge of love toward her. Anna was so much stronger than she knew. He was slightly in awe of her. She'd always been resilient, but these fourteen years seemed to have made her into a solid force to be reckoned with. She returned his squeeze to her hand.

"Bird," he ventured, "were there anymore?"

She looked at him, her eyes reflecting her pain.

"There are many more. That one covers the worst, and it's the most obvious. I don't think you need to see the others."

She was trying to protect them, he could see it in her guarded expression.

"How was he when you first found him?" Remus asked, voice more hoarse than usual.

Her hand trembled in his.

"You don't need to see it," she spat out.

"Anna," Remus argued, "don't shield us. I know I've done a good enough job of that myself, and it stops now. Please, show us."

She looked between Remus and Sirius and tears sprang to her eyes.

"It's going to hurt you. It pains me to even think about it."

"Uh, I think we've already been hurt, so what's the big deal about this one?"

Anna relented, wiping her eyes, and pulling out the memory strand, casting it into the pensieve.

"I'll stay here."

"Bird, what—"

"It's a different kind of painful memory. You need to see it, Sirius. You're right, you need to understand, but it's going to be excruciating. I've already lived it once, and I can't do it again."

She was shaking. His concern for Harry and her overrode his own trepidation about what the memory might contain. It couldn't possibly be worse that what they'd already seen, could it?

They all turned and dipped down into the pensieve. Sirius squinted at the brightness of the lights in the room. They were in a large room full of children, and Sirius began searching the small faces, looking for a familiar face topped with messy black hair, when he spotted her. She was wearing a blue shirt that must have been the official uniform for the daycare, judging by the other adults. She was bending down and having a conversation with a small girl. He headed in her direction, followed by the others.

As he got closer, he could see what a toll the intervening months between that Halloween and whatever month they were now in had taken. He heard Molly and Arthur's intakes of breath at the change as he felt like he'd been doused with cold water. She had lost a considerable amount of weight, and she had always been a fairly thin girl. He looked at Remus and received a short grim nod in answer. The dark circles under her eyes and her pallid skin tone were accentuated by the change in her hair color, which Sirius realized now must have been a tactical change. Her shoulders were stooped as if to carry the weight of her grief. Her eyes, usually blue and snapping with life, were dull and sorrowful. The worst change was in her expression. Even when her lips were pulled into a pleasant smile at the girl talking to her, her forehead was wrinkled and her eyes were wide with horror. Sirius was shaking and he moved to stand next to her. Though he couldn't truly comfort her as this was nothing but a memory, it hurt too much to see her standing there looking so completely alone.

Anna's eyes flickered up to something behind them and her expression shifted to one of pure delight for a moment, before turning frantic. Sirius turned, knowing what he would see. If the change in Anna had gutted him, there were no words to describe how altered their godson was. His shiny black baby hair was now lifeless and ill-kempt. His pink, dewy, chubby cheeks were now hollow and pale. Instead of looking as though he'd grown, as would normally be expected for a child of his young age, he looked as though he had shrunk. Where he had been chubby before, he was now a bit too thin. Probably not thin enough to worry the daycare workers, but plenty enough to worry Anna, who had seen him months ago and knew he should be more filled out. Worse was the scar on his forehead, which was glaring red, having not yet had time to fade.

The older woman carrying him brought Harry, who had turned to bury his face in the woman's chest, to Anna.

"Here's one of yours, Diana."

Anna reached out hands to take him, and Sirius was amazed at her ability to control herself. It was clearly taking all of her nerve, but she had nearly steady hands and managed not to snatch him out of the grasp of the woman handing him over. She tucked him against her chest protectively.

"No…uh…" Anna cleared her throat and tried again. "No bag, Theresa?"

At her voice, Harry glanced sharply up with what looked like recognition, but he could only see the underside of her dark brown hair. His little face fell with disappointment and it broke Sirius's heart. He was relieved that Anna hadn't noticed.

"No," the woman said as she shook her graying head. "The woman that brings him never brings food, nappies, anything. We've asked, but she just waves us off saying she doesn't care if we just leave it. Poor Harry is an orphan—car wreck, that's where the scar is from" Remus growled at this. "-and his aunt doesn't give two shakes about him. She keeps her own little boy at home." She finished with a tsk.

For the first time in the memory, Sirius saw a flash in the blue eyes, one of pure loathing. Fortunately, Theresa didn't seem to see or require a response.

"Go ahead and take him to meet the others in the room. And while you're on the way, might as well stop by the supply closet. He's going to need some of the extra nappies and food we keep in there."

Anna nodded mutely and shifted him in her arms to see his face as she moved toward the door.

"Anna! Anna!"

Harry's joyful voice rang out in the little room and the woman, Theresa, turned back in shock. He had reached up his tiny hand to touch Anna's face.

"Hi, Harry," Sirius heard her breathe as she smiled for his benefit and brushed his hair over his forehead.

"Did he just say your name?" Theresa broke in, clearly amazed.

"Uh, I think so. Dianna, Anna, probably sounds the same to him."

Anna answered a bit too quickly, but Sirius only noticed because he knew her so well. Their marauding days had taught them all how to lie convincingly, so the woman didn't even blink.

"That's the first time he's spoken since he's been here. He must really like you."

In response, Anna merely nodded and then fled the room. They all followed her out into a hall, passing a group of preschoolers waiting in line for the loo. As she darted down the hall, weaving in and out of children, Harry could be heard over the others, still calling her name. Finally, she turned right down a side hallway, opening the second door on the right, and slammed it behind them. She pulled her wand out and silenced the door before turning to Harry.

Sliding down to sit on the tiled floor, leaning against a cinder block wall, she turned Harry fully toward her. Sirius moved to sit next to them, but turned so that he could see them both.

"Oh, Harry, Harry, I'm so sorry, Harry, I'm here now. Let me look at you."

Whole body shaking now, she still gently pulled his arms free of his sleeves to check his arms and hands. Then she did the same with his legs and feet before unbuttoning his onesie, checking his abdomen and back. She let out a sigh of relief at finding nothing else wrong with him, then pulled him close to her chest and looked down at his face. He was staring back at her very seriously now.

"Anna," he said again, touching her face. She let out a breath as though she'd been holding it for months. Then she smiled at him, the first genuine smile he'd seen on her face, and looked almost like her old self for a second.

"Yes, Harry. It's me."

The toddler grinned at her and then smiled, still running his little hand over her cheek.

"Pafoot?"

Anna froze and Sirius felt the air leave his lungs. He had never expected that. He could hear the others reacting behind him but couldn't turn.

"Pafoot? Mooey?" Harry asked again, patting her cheek this time to get her attention. She could only shake her head in response, and it started the little boy's tears.

"Pafoot! Pafoot! Mooey!" He cried over and over, and Anna just shook her head again, covering her mouth tightly with one hand, her body shaking with sobs that she was trying valiantly to hold in for Harry's sake.

Sirius felt his heart shatter. If he had needed to pay any more penance for those poor decisions he had made that Halloween night, this was it. Watching the two people he loved most in the world tortured, over him, was next to the top of the list of the hardest moments he'd had to live through, and that was saying something. Tears were now blurring his vision. He could hear Remus and Molly crying from behind him, but he could only focus on the two in front of him.

"Pafoot! Mama! Daddy!"

At this, Anna's tears burst forth. She held him close as she cried, cradling his head against her cheek.

"I know, Harry, I know. I'm so sorry, so very sorry."

After what felt like an eternity, they both calmed slightly, and Harry said, "Anna?"

She pulled back enough to look at him.

"Yes, Harry?"

He took his forefinger and touched it to her cheek.

"Anna. Harry."

Then he snuggled against her as the last remaining tears flowed down to his chin and his breathing started to even out. Anna sucked air in deeply, trying to gain control.

"Yes. Just us. Only you and me."

She buried her face in his hair as he said her name again, and the memory began to fade.

This time, Sirius didn't hesitate when he resurfaced in the kitchen. He looked up through hot, teary eyes to see that Anna was still frozen in her seat. He strode straight over to her and picked her up, taking her seat and sitting her on his lap. He breathed in the scent of her hair and ran his fingers through it. He was vaguely aware of the others leaving as he kissed her brow. She was holding him back, her face buried against his chest.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too," she whispered back.

He held her more tightly in response, stroking her back. She didn't seem to be crying, but he needed to comfort her. Nothing could be done to soothe the younger Anna in the memory, so he had to make up for it with this one. After a few minutes, he pulled slightly back.

"Harry, I need to see him."

Anna shook her head.

"He's asleep. I went to check on him while you were in there."

He looked at her and saw that she still had that crinkle in her brow that told him she was remembering. She must have needed to look at him herself. He stood up and held out a hand to her.

"That's okay. I still want to see him."

She joined him, winding her fingers through his own as they traipsed up the stairs toward the room he shared with Ron. Sirius tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

"Kreacher," he whispered in explanation before casting alohomora.

The room was dark, save a small shaft of moonlight that fell across Harry's face. Sirius had half a mind to stay here all night, but he knew it would only seem weird to the boys. He just couldn't stand the thought of his tiny godson shoved in a closet, all alone in the dark, not knowing that there were at least two people out in the world who loved him more than anything. Anna pulled at his hand and looked up at him as he shook his head. Winding his arm around her, he held her as they stood there, watching their godson sleep.


	10. Unfinished Business

_Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter._

* * *

Anna and Sirius strolled toward their rooms. They were both exhausted after the emotional walk down memory lane, but Anna felt her anxiety building as the moment of separation grew closer. Sirius bent to kiss her goodnight quickly and gently before pulling away and whispering good night.

Sirius turned to go to his bedroom and panic seized her.

"Wait!"

Startled, Sirius turned to look at her.

"What is it?"

Anna colored. She felt like a child.

"I…I just panicked for a moment when you turned away."

She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat as Sirius looked at her. His face fell the moment he understood.

"Ah, love," he came back to her and held her face in his hands. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. I'm sorry, I'll just…"

Anna cleared her throat and tried to get control. This was ridiculous. She turned to open the door and was surprised when Sirius followed her inside. When she turned, he was watching her intently.

"Bird, talk to me."

"Can I ask you a blunt question?"

His eyes cleared as he looked at her, waiting for her to ask. She tried to keep her tone light and attempted not to blush, but she knew it wouldn't work, so she averted her gaze.

"Why am I staying in here and not with you?"

"I…um…"

She stood there, waiting several beats for him to answer and feeling insecure. Fourteen years could change a lot of things. He loved her, but what if he didn't want her anymore? His gaze was burning her as he walked closer, and she backed up against the closed door.

"So…first off, we hadn't talked about any of it yet, and I didn't want to be presumptuous. Secondly, there are an awful lot of people in this house, Molly Weasley included, and I don't really want to give her another reason to think I'm unfit to take care of Harry."

Anna snorted as she stared down at the floor, although Sirius was standing directly in front of her, blocking her view.

"We both know you don't care what Molly says."

"Well, not really. But I do care what Harry thinks and I want to be a good example to him."

He was leaning over her now, one arm against the wall, leaning in to look at her face. He bent down to look at her face and cupped her chin to tip it upward. It had always frustrated him not to see her eyes. Anna flushed, knowing he would read her insecurity as if it were written all over her face. She could see realization flickering in his eyes, before an expression flitted across his face that she couldn't read. It looked like an odd combination of annoyance and pride. Shaking his head in exasperation, he sighed as he leaned in closer, driving Anna crazy with his nearness. His right hand holding her face, he slipped his left hand around her waist, yanking her against him as he stared her down.

"You daft girl, of course I want you."

The last words were mumbled, his lips dragging against hers as he finished. Then, he was kissing her as he hadn't for fourteen years. It was unrestrained passion, the two of them a jumble of lips, mouths and tongues as his rough hands caressed the skin of her lower back and waist and she melted into him. Finally, he pulled back, gasping for breath as he rested his forehead on her collarbone and she leaned heavily against the door.

"Got that?" he whispered, kissing the hollow of her throat.

"Got it," she whispered back, and he pulled back to look at her, his pupils still dilated.

He leaned in to kiss her cheek gently and smirked as he pulled back to take in her own beaming face.

"For such an intelligent woman, you can be incredibly stupid sometimes, Bird."

"Yeah, yeah. You talk a lot of trash for someone who panty-raided McGonagall. More than once, might I add."

Anna closed her eyes, relishing the sound of his barking laughter, before plopping down on the sofa. He collapsed next to her. When he didn't speak, she turned to look at him expectantly.

"So…you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah, we got to talk some last night, but there's a lot to cover. I want to know how you are. I want to know…well I guess you can't literally tell me everything you've been through, but I want to know what's happened since…since I walked out that night."

Anna took a deep breath as she felt the chill of the house surround her again. It wasn't something she liked discussing, difficult as it was for both of them. But she realized she needed to tell him, as much as he needed to know.

"Well, I waited for a while for you to come back. Once I gave up on that, I went over to Wormtail's and he was there."

Sirius sat up quickly with a startled yelp.

"He didn't do anything to me—well, nothing physical that is. He just kind of sneered at me and said you were at James and Lily's house. I didn't know what had happened, but the way he said it, I knew it was nothing good."

She swallowed, not really wanting to say the next words, when she heard him whisper, "Don't spare me."

Anna nodded and plunged ahead. It was probably best to get it over with quickly.

"I saw their house. I could hear your motorbike in the distance. I must have just barely missed you."

She stared down at her hands as she heard his intake of breath.

"I went to find you, I ran around all night and into the next day, everywhere I could think of. Back to Wormtail's, but he had left, your apartment, Remus's. Finally, I went to the Hog's Head and Grandfather told me about Harry. I didn't know he was alive until then, and I was so relieved… then he told me about you. I went straight to Uncle Albus, but they'd already sent Harry to the Dursleys and taken you…away."

Anna looked up at him, but his face was in his hands, so she looked down at the carpet.

"I tried to get you out, at least to get you a trial or questioning under veritaserum, but I…I failed you."

"Bullshit."

When she turned to look at him in surprise, Sirius was sitting straight up, glaring at her, gray eyes blazing.

"I don't…"

"That's bullshit, Anna. You didn't fail me. Remus already told me about how you ran yourself ragged trying to convince them all and they just tried to have you committed or thrown in jail. You're the only one who believed in me-the only one who didn't fail me."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his gaze.

"Harry…"

"You didn't fail Harry, either. You tried to get him, and when you couldn't, you went after him. It's the same as with me. Neither of us blames you for things that were out of your control."

He reached up and wiped a tear off her cheek.

"What happened next?"

Anna sniffed before continuing.

"The next two months are kind of a blur. The next thing I remember clearly is going to your flat on Christmas to clean out your stuff—oh! I have some of your things!"

She moved as if to get up to get her suitcase, but Sirius grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down.

"It can wait, Bird. I want to know about you right now."

His intense expression showed that he was not going to let her out of finishing the story, so she settled in, squeezing his hand for strength.

"It was…" she paused, trying to think of a word hard enough to fit, and gave up, realizing none would, "painful. That was the first time I cried since Halloween. It was…worse than with my parents."

Sirius squeezed her shoulder in understanding. She hadn't cried after her parents' murder. She hadn't moved for three days, not until the Potters went to the Hogwarts' hospital wing to get her. The tears had finally come when James wrapped his arms around her. He had been her rock, and this time, she hadn't had that.

"It was kind of a turning point. I realized that you would want me to help Harry, so that's when I came up with the plan for Remus and me to take him out of the country. Of course, you know how that turned out."

Sirius sighed, nodding his head against her shoulder, his arm going around her.

"I remembered where Lily said Petunia lived and I snooped around. Finally, I figured out where they were sending Harry during the day, so I got a job there. I managed to stay with him, as much as I could. Then McGonagall found me and decided to help me, so we thought up the scheme of me becoming a teacher at his primary school."

She shrugged, "So, that's pretty much it. Once Harry left for Hogwarts, I took off, trying to find Wormtail, under the guise of doing research, which I did actually do, as well, and that's pretty much it. Once you broke out, I just added looking for you to the list."

Anna turned to Sirius, trying to read his expression.

"I'm sorry, Bird. I would have found you if I had any idea. I didn't even know if you were alive until the beginning of this summer. And to think you only missed me by about a minute…"

He trailed off, his eyes glazing over with pain.

"I know," she whispered back, "but we can't change it. Please don't beat yourself up over it. I meant what I said last night—it didn't change you in my eyes."

He nodded, still staring off. She waited for him to say something, but he just sat there.

"What about you? You personally. "

"Um…I don't know what you mean?"

Anna scrunched up her face as she looked at him.

"You've told me where you lived, your job…what you did with Harry, but…I mean, what about you?"

Anna continued to stare at him until he met her eyes and she saw that he looked a little afraid of an answer, though, what answer she didn't know. After a moment, he looked away and realization hit her. Her look turned incredulous. It never occurred to her that he didn't realize she had waited, and now she saw how stupid that was as she watched him stare stonily at the floor.

"Sirius, I waited. For you."

* * *

He looked up at her eyes now in surprise.

"You waited."

She nodded solemnly, blushing a little.

"You waited for fourteen years. Why?"

She nodded again. The hopeful spark inside him grew into a flame and he gaped at her, not sure he could believe it. It had been too much to expect, and it wouldn't have caused him to turn her away if she hadn't. It filled his heart to bursting, though, to know that she had loved him that deeply. It meant that there was no way he could convince her to leave now, and at that realization he felt both relief and fear. He rubbed his thumb idly across the back of her hand as she continued.

"I waited because nothing, no one, could ever satisfy compared to what we had. And I thought of you, alone in a cell, and my heart would break all over again. I could never do that, even if you would have forgiven me—I couldn't. Moving on, at least in that way…it was never even a thought."

Sirius stared at her in wonder and then took a huge breath and let it out slowly. Anna broke in again,

"I know that your feelings may have changed after all this time and I would understand—"

"It's not that at all. I want you with me more than I ever have. That's what I'm afraid of."

"Sirius, I'm not going anywhere—if all that waiting doesn't prove it to you then I don't know what will."

Gripping his hand tightly, she implored him with her dark blue eyes, and he spilled.

"It's that I'm not sure you shouldn't be going elsewhere. I may not be fully mad from Azkaban, but I'm—" his voice cracked, "not completely sane either. You and Harry, Remus… you're the only lights in my life now, and I'm not sure I want to saddle you with that burden. I love you too much. I would hate if the darkness inside of me were to swallow you up."

He closed his eyes in defeat and started as her hands firmly grabbed either side of his face. He peeked up at her tentatively. Her eyes were flashing lightning at him with an anger that made him blink.

"Sirius Orion Black, you prat, if you think you can send any of us away for some stupid, noble reason, then you can just get over it. I've not waited this long to just let you go. Now, if you want to go off because of the thrill of being on the run, and YOU don't want to be saddled with US or something, you're an ass, but that's a separate issue…"

"No. That's it. You and Harry are the sole reason I've survived this long. If it's up to me, neither of you would ever leave my side."

Anna smirked in triumph and sank down against him.

"I don't see what the problem is, then. I'm not leaving."

He gave up, knowing that it was a losing battle, and not one he really wanted to fight anyway.

"I love you too."

He pulled her tighter against him without saying anything as his heart welled up.

"Oh, right," she sat up straight, "I have some of your stuff. Do you want it?"

Sirius was taken aback. That hadn't even crossed his mind. He'd lived in his prison robes for months and years on end and now was living in old robes he'd found that were probably his father's. The thought made him shudder. He had wished for his own clothes hundreds of times, but he thought surely that everything was gone.

"Yeah, I do. What have you got?"

"Well, grandfather SHOULD have most of your pictures and things like that. I asked, but I was leaving and I'm not sure they listened. But I have some jeans and shirts you left at my flat, and I have your jacket."

Sirius froze. He had been sure the jacket and its contents had been lost years ago. She smiled at him knowingly, clearly thinking of how much he had loved that jacket. And he did love it, it was a treasure in and of itself, a gift from the Marauders to go with his pride and joy, his motorbike. His heart quickened as he realized what was hidden inside might not be missing after all.

"Do you want it now?"

He nodded, but grabbed her by the waist and held tight when she made to get up.

"Use your wand, Bird."

"I don't want to be lazy. I can go get it."

"Yes, yes, we wizards are idle sloths, using our wands for everything. Even so, I am not letting you off this couch. You've been running around all day—no need to feel overwhelmed by a late night bought of laziness."

"Your laziness—I'm perfectly willing to go over there and grab it."

He grinned at her and flicked his own wand to bring her case closer, then gestured at her to do the honors. She sighed in resignation and flicked her own wand to open the zipper and then summoned the jacket and handed it to him.

It felt even better than he'd remembered, more broken in and soft. Lifting it to his nose, he inhaled deeply and was greeted by Anna's spicy scent, along with leather. He looked up at her in question.

"I wear it sometimes."

Searching her eyes for more information, he didn't find any. It must've fallen out; surely she would have found it otherwise. He put it on and reached into the lining behind the right pocket out of habit.

"Oh, the picture. It's here," she said, leaning forward to unzip the side pocket of her suitcase.

While she was doing that, he reached into a miniscule slit in the lining behind the left front flap and wiggled his finger, trying not to cry out in triumph as he felt the edge of her mother's band. Did she know? He looked over, but she was still digging. Relief washed over him that it hadn't been lost.

"You didn't find anything else in there, did you?"

She squinted up at him, holding out the picture. He took it, not looking, because he had memorized it long ago.

"Nothing, was there supposed to be?"

Searching her eyes, he had to conclude that she didn't know it was there. Of course, it was attached to the lining with magic, but it had been years.

"Just a pack of cigarettes," he responded, knowing it would set her off, and he wasn't disappointed as she scoffed and sat up with a glare.

"Don't tell me you're smoking again! That's incredibly stupid—no matter what you think about muggle science, in this case, it is completely correct and there's tons of evidence—"

"Yes, yes I know. I haven't smoked since you made me quit years ago. I just like seeing you all riled up."

He did at that, even in the dimly lit room, her cheeks had flushed prettily and her eyes sparkled at him, crackling with annoyance. He smirked and plunged his hands into his pockets.

"What do you think?"

She bit her lip as she looked at him. Leaning in, she grabbed him by the edges of the jacket.

"You're still pretty damn sexy."

He laughed as she looked at him, knowing he looked ridiculous with the jacket over the ancient robes he was wearing.

"I wasn't lying," she pouted at him.

"Well, if I didn't believe you before about waiting, which _I did_," he said in answer to her threatening look, "I would now. If this qualifies as sexy, you must have been pretty lonely."

She rolled her eyes at him as he shrugged off the jacket and sank back down against the cushions, draping the jacket across the arm of the sofa. He studied her for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to tell her when she cut in.

"What you said before, about wanting to be a good example to Harry. What exactly did you mean?"

"Oh, right," he said, "Uh…I just meant that I would rather Harry be like James than me in that respect. You know," he elaborated at her confused look, "he only ever dated Lily…"

"That was years ago, Sirius. I mean, as far as I know, it was." She looked at him threateningly.

"It was!" he assured her. "It definitely was—it's only been you since sixth year. I just…um…" Sirius trailed off. How could he explain himself without just full out asking her? He changed tacks.

"Do you remember that conversation we had? After we watched Harry that weekend, about the war, kids?"

Anna blanched in response and he winced at the look on her face. That had been one of their biggest arguments ever. They rarely fought, but when they had, it was not pretty. She had brought up the subject of marriage, unaware that he had just spent an hour trying to calm James' agonizing fears for his wife and son. He had responded vehemently that he didn't intend to get married or have children while Voldemort was still around and his abrupt response had hurt her deeply.

"I remember," she responded, with a closed expression.

"I said that because I was scared of what might happen to you. I thought if I…married you, that you would be a target-"

"That again?" Anna's look had turned deadly. He sighed.

"I know. It gets better, I promise."

She nodded shortly and he winced. This wasn't exactly how he'd wanted to do this.

"Then you got hurt, the night that Gideon and Fabian died."

A shadow passed across her eyes as they both remembered. They had been too late to save their friends, and it still smarted. Dolohov had hit her with a pretty severe curse and she had been laid up at St. Mungo's for days as he had haunted the halls, terrified that she wouldn't make it out alive.

"I never got the chance to tell you. I realized then, when I saw you unconscious on that ground, that it didn't matter that we weren't married—if you died, it would kill me, either way."

He saw blue eyes widen as she began to realize what he was saying.

"Do you mean…you were…?"

Sirius stared back at her, trying to gauge her reaction. He picked up the jacket and handed it to her. She looked at him, bewildered.

"I went to talk to Prongs. He reamed me out for being a coward and told me I was missing out by holding back; that despite everything, he wouldn't have traded those years with Lily and Harry. He helped me get something."

He reached across to pull open the left flap of the jacket and pointed to the hidden pocket with his wand, muttering a spell. Gesturing to her to reach in, Sirius held his breath and let it out slowly. Anna watched him closely for a moment before complying. He could tell the moment she found it because she froze and turned to stare at him, her eyes bright with tears. Realizing she wasn't even going to look, he spoke up.

"It was your mother's. I was going to ask you that night that we found out about the prophecy. Then, everything went to hell and I never got the chance. I'm sorry I didn't ask a long time ago."

He reached up and wiped away a tear that had slipped from her eye.

"Love you," she finally managed though her voice was strained from trying not to cry. She opened her mouth to speak again, but couldn't, so she pulled him down to kiss her. He closed his eyes and pulled her legs across his lap. Anna pulled back and looked at him, smiling with her eyes.

"Sirius, I-"

Whatever she was going to say was cut off as a yell sounded from downstairs. Their eyes caught, sharing their panic as they each grabbed their wands tightly and spun in the air, apparating down to their yelling godson.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, that's it for this time. I know it's early, but Sirius insisted on this conversation happening now. (I'll tell you, he's pretty hard-headed. Just ask Remus.) Thank you for all the reads, follow, faves, and reviews! **


	11. Compromised Minds

_Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Harry Potter._

* * *

Anna was poised to see an attack or medical emergency, something—she didn't know what—but she certainly wasn't expecting to see her godson lying in bed, asleep. Ron was bent over Harry, who was thrashing around in his bed, muttering incoherently. Suddenly, Harry burst out into loud, insane laughter that sent a chill up her spine as it called a memory to mind that she usually tried to forget. It made no sense, but Anna knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what that was.

And it wasn't Harry's laughter.

Sirius and she rushed forward as one. Ron moved out of the way as others burst into the room, but Anna ignored them. Their shakes and calls weren't waking him. Sirius pulled out his wand, muttered "Sorry, Harry," and cast an aguamenti charm at his face.

Harry gasped and then spluttered, spitting water out of his nose and mouth. Finally, he looked up, meeting Anna's eyes and she sighed with relief. Clear, green eyes looked at hers with a confusion and bit of panic, but she could only find Harry in them.

"Alright, Harry?"

Harry turned to meet Sirius's gaze and then relaxed slightly, nodding. Sirius clapped him on the shoulder and turned to the others.

"Okay, everyone, sorry about that. Just a nightmare, you can all go back to bed."

Harry shot him a grateful look as he smiled back reassuringly, and even in her fearful state, Anna's heart swelled, seeing the love between them. The others left, Ron being pulled along by his mother, and closed the door behind them. She moved to sit next to Sirius, at the foot of Harry's bed.

"What was it, Harry?"

Harry was pressing his hand to his scar as though it was causing him immense pain and his face was drained of color. He was breathing heavily.

"At first, it was a dream I've had a bunch this summer. I feel trapped, there are these dark tiled hallways, with doors that I want to get through, but I can't. At the end, it changed. I couldn't see anything…but I felt…happy. But it was like it wasn't ME who was happy."

Anna was beyond confused, but Sirius looked back at Harry grimly.

"Does it feel like before? When your scar used to hurt before Voldemort came back?"

"What?" Anna yelped, and Sirius answered for Harry.

"Harry's scar gives him some sort of…connection…with Harry. So, it used to only burn whenever Voldemort was nearby. Last year it hurt some when Voldemort couldn't have been nearby. Dumbledore reckons it's because Voldemort was feeling strong emotion."

As Anna sat back in shock and tried to absorb this new information, she watched Sirius turn to Harry to see him nod.

"Only it's more vivid…and longer, too."

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah. Just tired now."

Sirius stared into Harry's eyes for a moment, she suspected to make sure that he was telling the full truth.

"Are you sure you don't need us to stay with you?"

Harry colored before shaking his head vigorously. Anna opened her mouth to argue, but shut it when she saw Sirius shaking his head at her.

"We'll owl Dumbledore in the morning and let him know. Goodnight, Harry."

Anna smiled forcedly at Harry before allowing Sirius to drag her gently toward the door. Ron was waiting in the hallway.

"Just a second," Sirius left them in the hall and went back into the room.

"Ron, if it happens again, please…"

Ron nodded at her sleepily.

"Yeah, I'll let you know."

The door re-opened and Anna peeked in to see Harry smiling softly at her. She barely had time to wonder why as Sirius grabbed her arm to escort her up the stairs. She forced herself to wait until they were back on the landing where there rooms were before turning to Sirius furiously.

"What was that? Why did you make me leave like that? Couldn't you tell he was still upset?"

Sirius sighed.

"He's a teenage boy. He doesn't want his godparents sleeping with him, making him look needy."

"And that whole thing about his scar and Voldemort, what does that mean? Does that mean Voldemort can see into his mind? How did this connection happen? What do we do to stop it?"

Sirius sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, holding up a hand so that she would stop throwing questions at him.

"You're not going to like this, but the answer to all of the questions is 'I don't really know'."

Anna felt the panic threaten to overwhelm her. It was one thing to protect Harry from outside threats, but if Voldemort was _inside his head…_

"Occlumency. He'll have to learn it."

Sirius nodded.

"That's why I want to speak to Dumbledore in the morning. It's just…I really don't want him to have to take lessons from Snape. He tortures him in Potions—he hates him like he hated James."

"Snape? Why on earth would Snape be the one…?"

"Something about it tempting Voldemort if Harry's too close to Dumbledore. I don't know—he doesn't tell me that much, not even about Harry."

Sirius swung open the door to Regulus's room, keeping his back to her for a moment, his shoulders tense. She could see the strain in his eyes when he turned back around and assumed he was trying to hide his own fear to help her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the sofa.

"I know Occlumency. And Legilimency. Uncle Albus taught me Occlumency after my parents died, since he realized what a target I would be and I've been practicing…I didn't have very much to do for all those years, so I figured I would learn some useful skills."

At his questioning look, she continued.

"I'm not saying I'm as good as Uncle Albus or Snape, but I'd rather at least give him an overview of what to do, since I'm sure Severus will just expect him to pick it up without any explanation of what to do at all."

Sirius nodded, looking at her closely.

"That sounds good—much better than just trusting him to Snape, at least," he hesitated, "I know this is going to make you mad, but there really isn't anything else we can do tonight."

Anna hated that she agreed with him. It went against every maternal instinct not to act to help Harry right now. It made her feel weak, like she had all those years he was with the Dursleys. She sighed, frustrated, but then nodded her agreement as she sank onto the sofa, defeated.

"Look," Sirius began as he sat down next to her, "I don't know about your experience as Harry's godmother, but mine as his godfather has usually been like this: a lot of waiting, a lot of fear, and a whole lot of uncertainty."

She met his grim gray eyes with her own blue ones and realized he knew exactly how she was feeling.

"Not like this, no. A lot of waiting and a lot of fear, but Voldemort was never this close back then."

Anna leaned into him, taking comfort in the feel of his familiar chest rising and falling with his breath and the fact that she wasn't in this alone anymore.

"So, what was it that you went back in for? Harry was smiling when I peeked in, and I forgot because it seemed so out of place."

"What were you going to say before?"

It took Anna a moment to remember what he was referring to after he dodged her question. It felt like a day had passed since their conversation and her mind whirled at the different emotions she had experienced in the past hour or so.

"Oh, that."

She blushed and burrowed her head deeper into his chest.

"Yes, _that._ What did you start to say?"

"I would have said yes," she mumbled against him.

"Huh?"

"I would have said yes, if you had asked me back then."

"Yeah?"

She felt his smile against the top of her head and heard his heartbeat pick up in speed.

"What about now?"

Anna's heart stopped. She slowly leaned back to look at his face. His expression was reminiscent of all those years before when he had asked her what she would think if he kissed her because he meant to. The vulnerability in his eyes tugged at her heart even more now.

"Are…are you asking? Now?"

"I know here isn't romantic, and it's been forever since we were together…if it's too soon, that's fine, I just…just…I want us to be together, and I don't want to have any more regrets."

Sirius leaned down against the crook of her neck and breathed deeply for a moment. He looked deep into her eyes, which had grown wider with every word he had uttered.

"Marry me?"

"Yes," she said, practically before he could even finish the question.

Then he kissed her slowly and sweetly, lips trembling and hands shaking slightly as they held her shoulders.

Anna leaned back to look at him, and he reached for his jacket, to pull out the ring and slide it onto her finger. She stared down at her mother's sapphire ring and felt like her mum was giving her nod of approval from beyond the grave. Sirius tugged her hand to his mouth and kissed it reverently.

"So this is what you told Harry? And how exactly are we going to manage this?"

His eyes danced as they looked up at her as he shook his head and pulled her back against his chest.

"Yes, that's what I told him. Not tonight, Bird. No more worries, no more plans. I just want to relish the fact that you finally said yes to me."

Anna narrowed her eyes as she looked up at his face.

"Like you ever gave me a chance to…so I suppose I'll just relish the fact that you finally asked me."

He pinched her side as she jumped at the tickling sensation and held onto him more tightly.

* * *

The next morning had been filled with well-wishes, starting with a well-mannered "Best wishes, dears," from Molly, and ending with a shout of "Finally! Only bloody took you twenty years!" from Remus.

Sirius had sent his message to Dumbledore early in the morning. Much to his chagrin, rather than answering, Dumbledore had replied by sending Snape straight to Headquarters. After a tense ten minute conversation between Remus, Sirius, Molly, Snape, and herself, they had agreed that Harry would begin Occlumency lessons with Snape once school began.

Anna was determined to speak to Snape alone afterward, as there were a few things that they needed to clear up, but it took a good amount of cajoling to get Sirius out of the kitchen. He didn't listen until she got annoyed and pointed out that she could take Snape if she had to, and the fact that he didn't trust her to was not a good way to start out an engagement or marriage.

"So, you're going to marry Black?"

Anna simply looked back at him, not wanting to answer a rhetorical question. He scoffed, taking her silence for admission. When he spoke, his voice was full of bitterness.

"I will never understand why decent, intelligent women fall for those arrogant, foolish…"

She smiled at him wryly.

"I didn't know you thought so highly of me, Severus," she answered, knowing full well that this had little to nothing to do with Sirius and her.

"Why?"

He clearly hadn't wanted to ask the question, but now that he was in this conversation, apparently he wanted to see it through. At least she wouldn't have to be the first to bring up Lily. She sighed, annoyed at Snape's lack of maturity as well as his intentional ignorance.

James and Sirius had certainlybeen wrong to bully Snape all those years ago, as she had made perfectly clear to the boys at the time. She and James had never had a real falling out until that day after OWLS, and it had been a real wake up call for him. But now Severus was rewriting history as he stewed in it over the years. Other than that time, he had absolutely given at least as good as he had gotten. It was frankly obvious that this was more about his bitterness over his belief that Lily had chosen James over him. The truth was that Lily had given up on Snape long before she ever gave James a chance.

Despite the fact that she was about to threaten him, Anna didn't quite have the heart to bring that up to Snape. He had to know that losing Lily's friendship was his own fault. It wasn't that terrible word that had ended their friendship, but the fact that they had chosen different sides that had done it. Death Eaters vs. the Order—it was such an expression of who each of them had been at the core that they could never could have been anything other than enemies without one undergoing a fundamental change. Anna had enough sympathy, despite her dislike of the man standing before her, to know that he would never forgive himself for it. But she wouldn't have been Lily's best friend if she didn't remind him of who the woman he loved had actually been.

"Severus, really, you need to get over yourself. You expect all of us to only see the bad in James and Sirius, while only seeing the good in you. If we are all to continue to be judged by our past sins, you would be the one left to rot in Azkaban for years. And, for the sake of moving this lovely chat along, the reason I wanted to talk to you today is the same reason that you are not."

Snape was staring at her now, apparently at a loss for words, not understanding where she was headed. His arm was now dangling at his side.

"First I want you to know, I don't intend to share this with anyone, not unless you force my hand. I know why you switched sides. I know it was because of Lily, because you believe you love her."

Anna had her wand at the ready, unsure if he was going to attack or not, so she was easily able to dodge his spell and disarm him.

His black eyes were wild with desperation as they looked at her, and pain flashed across them at Lily's name. She continued, shaking her head.

"I suppose that you do love her, in your own, rather unhealthy way, that is. I don't mean to downplay what you've done for us-I'm very grateful for the ways that you've helped Harry."

He twitched his face unpleasantly, as though flicking off a stray fly. Anna supposed that was a form of acknowledgement.

"However, I think you forget something important about Lily. She would come back from the dead to kick your ass if she knew how you treat her son."

"So, you expect me to cater to your precious, big-headed godson, like everyone else—like they all did to his pig of a father?"

Anna literally growled in frustration, feeling overwhelming sympathy with James for hexing him all those years ago.

"Clearly you haven't grown up, Severus—you hate James for bullying you all those years ago, so you think that justifies you bullying _children. _You forget, Severus. I was Harry's teacher for years. I've seen him with numerous other teachers for years. I know how he actually handles authority."

Snape merely sneered at her.

"You say he doesn't respect you, but I've seen how much he cares about Hagrid, McGonagall, and my uncle, and it started at the beginning, simply because they showed him the smallest amount of kindness. Had you done the same, you could have had the love of that boy—the love of the last piece of Lily left on this earth. "

Anna saw the pain flicker in his eyes and knew she had hit her mark. She wasn't going to get a response out of him-she had known that going in. Severus was staring back at her.

"No one can know."

"Like I said, I don't intend to tell anyone, not any of them, unless you give me reason to. I'm not asking you to befriend Harry, but stop attacking him."

"Potter cried to his godmummy, did he? Some Gryffindor."

Anna made eye contact with Snape and then silently cast _legilimens_. She remained in Snape's mind for a brief moment, looking at her dead best friend's face, before he was able to cast her out.

"He didn't need to. He won't need to in the future, either. Are we understood?"

Snape pursed his lips in an ugly grimace and gave her the slightest of nods, then turned to go to the fireplace, clearly fuming, despite his attempts to maintain a calm façade. She tossed his wand to him, setting her own down on the table. As soon as he caught it, he saw his wand flick, sending a silent spell at her, and she silently, wandlessly threw up a shield without even stopping to think about it.

He gaped at her for a moment before tossing the powder into the flames and crying out "Spinner's End!"

Still watching him as he glared at her with loathing, she saw the momentary flash of begrudging admiration at that, and she gave him a small smile before he spun away.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm sorry this has taken so long! I was very sick for a while and I found this chapter really difficult to write. All of this had to happen now, but I'm not super happy with the result. I finally decided just to go ahead and post since editing wasn't changing it for the better. I'd be interested to hear what you all think of it. I'm much more excited about the next two chapters, so hopefully I will have those up soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**


	12. The Art of Distraction

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**_

* * *

"Practicing again?"

Sirius merely nodded at Remus. Anna had Sirius attempting to penetrate her mind. He wasn't very good at it, having only learned Occlumency as a child, but there was no one else at Headquarters who could practice Legilimency at all. They figured easy practice was better than no practice.

"I don't understand why you ARE practicing. The only Legilimens there will be Dumbledore, and he won't let anything slip."

"Well, Remus, that's true, but good Occlumency can also help you to lie convincingly."

Remus looked at her skeptically, but Sirius cut in to explain.

"Occlumency is largely about disconnecting your emotions from what you're thinking. So it helps you to close down the tell-tale signs of lying that show because of either guilt at lying, or fear that you're going to be caught out."

"But if they use veritaserum…not that they should, since you aren't charged with anything. But it is Fudge we're talking about."

They both frowned.

"Yes, well, that's why Dumbledore's been putting Fudge off. Snape has been brewing an antidote, and Uncle Albus is bringing it tomorrow morning before we leave."

Sirius glanced over at his fiancée, who was biting her lip from nerves.

"It'll be alright, Bird."

She merely nodded, still clearly nervous, as Sirius shot a glare at his friend. Anna was already scared about heading to the Ministry as it was, he didn't need to bring it up. He walked over to her and put his arm around her, playing with the ends of her hair.

"Let's go get some lunch. We need to take a break anyway—we don't want to wear your brilliant mind out."

Remus followed them down to the kitchen. Molly already had a lunch of French onion soup ready that smelled delicious. Anna got up to help her spoon the bowls out. Sirius grimaced as she handed bowls to Remus and him and she smacked him on the back of the head.

"I only dished it out, it's fine."

They all sat in silence for a few moments, busy eating and lost in thought, until the teenagers joined them, all chattering.

"There's an Order meeting Saturday night?"

Sirius looked up to see Harry looking at them expectantly, and the other teenagers turned once they heard his question.

"Yes, there is," Molly replied, "not that that will mean anything for you all, other than that you will have to occupy yourselves elsewhere," she glared at her children, the twins in particular, severely.

Sirius rolled his eyes and met Remus' gaze as Anna blew her breath out, annoyed. Although Remus' view of the situation was more in line with following Dumbledore's orders than with Anna and Sirius' opinion that honesty was the best policy, he clearly shared their agreement that simply ordering the kids to keep out of the way was the absolute worst way to go about it. They weren't children. She was a nice woman, who was simply trying to protect her children, but this was no way to raise pranksters. It was an even worse way to handle Harry, Hermione, and Ron, knowing their penchant for sneaking around to discover private information. However, he wasn't going to mention the latter to her. He had a feeling that much of the trio's school activities remained unknown to Arthur and her. He frowned, realizing that he didn't know that much either, prior to Harry's third year.

The twins muttered to each other, irritated, and most likely, planning a way around the injunction. Anna turned to him and tried to hide a smile as she tapped her left earlobe. Sirius grinned in response. Despite Molly's purge of the twins Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products, which were frankly brilliant, as anyone could see except for their mother, Sirius was positive there were still more hidden away.

"Since there's a meeting, does that mean you'll get to see your grandfather?"

Sirius' eyebrows shot up at Harry's question and he turned slowly toward Anna, realizing that his godson was correct. However, Anna didn't have the look of longing that he expected to see on her face.

"Well, yes, I suppose it does," she smiled before going back to her soup, only freezing when she realized that the others were staring at her.

"Anna, isn't this the first time you've seen him since…"

She stared up at Remus, her face showing her shock.

"Did I not mention that?" Remus shook his head in response. "No, actually, it isn't. I've been meeting him every Christmas."

"You have?"

Sirius stared down at her.

"Um…well, yes. We would meet in muggle London for the day. I couldn't cut him off entirely. And it's frankly downright depressing spending Christmas alone."

She glanced up at him as if to apologize and he rolled his eyes at her. Sirius wished she would stop apologizing for not being in prison herself.

"Well, dear, that's nice to know," Molly chimed in, "I'm sure it was hard for him not knowing where you were all those years."

Anna nodded and shrugged noncommittally as Sirius squeezed her thigh under the table. Molly, surrounded by family her entire life, wouldn't understand the relationship between Anna and Aberforth. Anna herself had never really known what to make of it. Aberforth was such an angry, occasionally selfish, person that he didn't see how much Anna had needed him as a child—he merely had thought of how much he needed Anna after her parents had died. Albus and the Potters had been there for her more than her grandfather had. He wondered how those meetings had gone. It gave him some comfort to know that she hadn't spent every Christmas alone. She had always loved Christmas when they were younger.

"So…" Hermione spoke up shyly, "the meeting at the Ministry is tomorrow, right?"

Sirius watched as Harry and Anna shared a nervous glance.

"Well, Professor Dumbledore has a plan, with the antidote to veritaserum, and he'll be there, so he can step in if anything gets out of hand—"

Sirius stopped listening as Hermione continued rambling for several minutes.

"Hermione, are you trying to convince Anna and me that it's going to be okay, or yourself?"

Sirius chuckled as Harry finally broke in, sounding exasperated. Hermione and Ron were now bickering, predictably. He looked to his left, seeing that Anna had finished, so he stood up.

"Ready to go?"

She smiled weakly at him and they left the kitchen together to get in some more practice.

* * *

The next day dawned gray and rainy for an August day. Anna had gone in to wake Harry and found him already awake, staring at the ceiling. She went to wait in the kitchen with Molly, Sirius and Remus, nibbling on a piece of toast. Molly had tried to coax her to eat more, but she knew she just couldn't manage it.

"Love," Sirius whispered in her ear as he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, "please calm down. I trust you. And you won't be able to give up the location against your will."

"But if they ask if I've seen you or if I know where you are…"

"Then the antidote as well as your Occlumency will help you lie. It will all be fine."

Anna had practiced some elementary Occlumency with Harry as well. The use of veritaserum or Legilimency on a minor was illegal anyway, even by the Ministry, so it was more of a precaution than anything. She wasn't very sure it had helped with his dreams, though. Harry said it had, but he wouldn't meet her eyes and his own still had dark circles under them. She forcefully shoved that worry to the back of her mind for the moment as her uncle walked into the kitchen.

"Here you go, my dear. Take it now so that it will be in effect once we get there."

She grimaced as she threw back the vial and gulped down the foul tasting potion. It didn't seem right that the antidote to veritaserum should be bright green and bitter while the potion itself was tasteless, odorless and colorless. Harry paused as he entered, looking pale and nervous, so she summoned a smile and motioned to the chair next to her. He sat down and reached for the toast, nibbling it halfheartedly as she had done earlier as Remus tried to distract him with chit-chat.

"Moony, if you're going to try to distract him, at least talk about something distracting. Courses hardly qualify. You're going to bore the kid to death."

"Oh, and what would qualify?"

"Quidditch, girls, pranks…"

"I'm talking to Harry, Padfoot, not to you."

"Sorry, Remus, but I've got to agree with Sirius on this one," Harry replied, showing some interest, to Anna's relief.

"Oh, really?" Remus responded. "So, tell us who you have a crush on then, Harry?"

Harry's face turned bright red and stared into his goblet full of pumpkin juice as both Marauders looked at him with glee. Anna caught Sirius' eye as he winked at her. The patented "bicker to distract" tactic that Sirius and Remus had perfected back in their school days still worked, apparently.

Harry sent her a pleading look as they kept up their questioning, so she finally broke in.

"Alright, you two gossips. Leave Harry alone."

"Bird, I want to know who it is that makes my godson look like a tomato."

"Well, you're just going to have to wait. Harry, let's go. Unless you want to stay and find out who makes Remus look like a tomato."

"Hey!"

Harry grinned at her and Anna breathed a sigh of relief. Their plan had calmed her as well. It was such a routine to listen to the banter that it put her at ease.

Remus gave her an encouraging nod and Sirius quickly pecked her on the lips before giving her a brief, heartening look.

"Good luck!"

Molly called after them as they made their way to the fireplace. Dumbledore led the way, followed by Harry, who carefully tucked his glasses into his pocket first, and then Anna stepped up, heart beating fast. She tossed the floo powder, called out "Ministry Atrium" and watched the kitchen spin into a blur.

* * *

Anna dusted herself off as she arrived, looking around for the other two. She spotted them, Uncle Albus looking spotless while Harry looked a bit worse for the wear. She waved her wand to clear him of any soot as she tried to ignore the stares of the crowds in the atrium.

She tried to tell herself that it was always like this when she was with her uncle, which was true to an extent, and she was sure the same was true with Harry. However, she'd never before seen her uncle receive the types of looks he was getting now. These furtive glances were suspicious, wary, fearful, even. He'd always been venerated in the magical community and she wondered if it was because he was with her or because of the seeds of doubt planted by the Prophet and Ministry working to discredit him.

Taking Harry's arm, Anna followed after her uncle who appeared to be oblivious to the stares, although she knew he was much too observant for that. They made their way to the desk, where they submitted their wands for identification. Anna winced as the Security Guard's head snapped up at Harry's name and her godson tried to flatten his fringe over his scar. Uncle Albus moved them along quickly, saying they had to get to Madam Bones office.

Despite knowing that Fudge would be there as well, knowing that Amelia Bones was technically in charge of this meeting was encouraging. Like so many others, the last time Anna had seen her was at the funeral for her brother Edgar and his family. She had met Amelia once or twice at parties thrown by the Prewetts or Potters, and she had always seemed fair but firm. This was only so comforting—of course, Anna hadn't done anything wrong by producing the patronus, but she was technically harboring a fugitive.

Sirius! She looked down in alarm at her left hand and surreptitiously slipped the ring off, placing it on her right ring finger instead. Harry noticed, his eyes going wide as he looked at her and she waved her hand to tell him not to worry about it. They got into the lift and waited to reach Level 2. Anna took a deep breath and put her arm around her godson, trying to take her own advice.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry to make you wait so long for an update for what turned out to be mostly a filler chapter! It turns out that the bug I had before was not so much a bug, but a BABY! I have been sick nearly every evening, which is usually my time for writing. I am nearing the end of the first trimester, so hopefully I will be less sick and therefore able to write more (as well as just be a fully-functioning adult), but please don't be too surprised if the updates come a lot less often than before. I have no intentions of abandoning the story, have no fear, I am just realistically acknowledging that time is going to be much harder to come by than before. Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	13. Survivors

**Author's Note: I apologize for the delay! Here you go.**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Harry Potter.**_

* * *

Anna fiddled with her robes as they whipped through the Ministry lift. It felt constricting, to be in robes again, even with the cooling charms. She had gotten so used to wearing weather-appropriate muggle clothing that the billowing robes felt slow and weighty. However, that was nothing compared to the terrible déjà vu washing over her. The last time she was here, she'd been called a lunatic, a criminal, and worse, and that was nothing compared to what they had said about Sirius. She had been glad to leave without a single backward glance and had barely resisted the urge to spit on the shiny tiled floor on the way out.

The Occlumency practice was turning out to be essential, if only to help her keep from showing her contempt for the very walls of the institution. She breathed out and focused on locking away her volatile memories and emotions. The trick wasn't to block all thought, but to concentrate on those that had no passionate connection to what had to remain hidden.

Before Anna knew it, they were at the door of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where Amelia Bones' office was located. As Uncle Albus opened the door, she nearly gasped at the onslaught of memory. Nothing had changed in the past 14 years. She kept her eyes on the back of Harry's head, ahead and slightly to her left, willing herself not to look to the right where the Auror Headquarters were. Against her will, she remembered taking this same walk, hand in hand with her father, pigtails swinging against her back, and later, she and James playing hide and seek under the office desks. Anna didn't want the current situation to taint those precious memories. She twisted her ring around her right ring finger. If it were to be noticed somehow, anyone would think it was perfectly reasonable for Anna to wear her deceased mother's ring, she tried to tell herself.

The conversations in the room swiftly fell silent at their appearance. A cup comically bounced across the floor as if the sight of the trio had rendered the holder's hands useless. Anna had the urge to whirl around and yell "boo" just to spite them, but then remembered the story of what Moody did to that one witch on April Fools' Day. These were aurors she was dealing with, but on the other hand, at least maybe it would get her out of this hearing. Her lips quirked upward at the cheerful thought.

Anna nearly ran straight into Harry, who had paused behind Albus. He raised his wrinkled hand to knock at the door, which swung open as they heard "Enter". She allowed herself a moment to take a deep breath and send an encouraging look to Harry before schooling her features into a distant but polite mask and stepping inside.

Only Amelia Bones was present for the moment, and she smiled kindly, though distantly, at the three of them and gestured for them to sit down.

"Would any of you care for a drink?"

Harry and Anna quietly declined as Uncle Albus hummed and appeared not to hear the question. They would not trust anything offered while in within Ministry walls, regardless of the identity of the one offering. They had all previously planned to reject anything unless forced into it by the pretense of social convention.

Anna was growing uncomfortable with the silence. Of course, she knew that procedure dictated that they not begin discussing the matter at hand until all those required were present. But it was downright awkward sitting across from an acquaintance and pretending not to know her, particularly given that she wasn't sure of her reception. Amelia could very well hate her, if she believed Sirius to be the traitor within the Order. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Amelia's shrewd gaze was resting on her more than was normal, but her eyes weren't giving anything away. She tried not to stare back at the monocle on Amelia's nose. It was an odd affectation that made her look much older than her years, although she was a bit older than Anna. Edgar had been at least a decade older than her, and Amelia was several years older than him.

Harry was fidgeting in the seat next to her, more unhinged than the Dumbledores, at least outwardly. Her uncle had perfected his appearance of airy unconcern many years before she had been born. Its flawlessness appeared to still be in tact as he peered around the room humming and smiling vacantly. Anna knew that he was actually busy strategizing and he would tune back in when necessary, although he would appear to still be fairly disinterested.

Sirius and James would have handled the situation the same way, by either cracking jokes or acting completely bored by the proceedings. Remus would usually bring a book. Anna chose to do none of these, as she wasn't feeling particularly witty at the moment, boredom would seem inappropriate, and a book would merely give her nerves away since she would probably just fiddle with it and have to fake turning the pages at the appropriate times. She chose instead to pretend to inspect the shelves and walls of the office, feigning interest in her surroundings. Her eyes caught sight of a family picture, Amelia a teenager, with her arm around Edgar, who must have been about eleven, and their other brother around the age of five—what was his name?—in front of them both. He was pushing at Edgar's hand as his older brother attempted to muss his hair. Anna smiled sadly at the image.

Harry cleared his throat.

"Um, Madam Bones?" He spoke up tentatively.

The adults all looked up at him in surprise.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

Amelia met his gaze questioningly.

"Are you related to Susan Bones?"

Her face cleared as she smiled.

"Yes, she's my niece. I understand she's in your year at Hogwarts."

"Yes, ma'am, she is."

Harry faltered, not knowing what else to say. Anna couldn't stop her eyes from flitting back to the photo. Edgar's son would have been in Harry's class, too, had he not been murdered. Harry and he may have even been friends or housemates.

Anna was broken from her reverie by Amelia picking up the very photograph Anna was examining and showing it to Harry.

"Susan's father, Michael, is the littlest one."

She paused, as if weighing her words.

"Edgar, my other brother, had a son that should have been in Hogwarts with you. William."

Alarm spread over Anna, as she hoped that Amelia wasn't somehow skilled in Legilimency herself. She caught her uncle's gaze and he shook his head surreptitiously. Amelia must have simply known where her thoughts would naturally go.

Harry hesitated, obviously unsure if she wanted him to ask or not. Anna was surprised to realize, looking across the desk, that the Head of the DMLE clearly expected and even hoped for him to ask. For some reason, she wanted Harry to know this story.

"What happened to him…if you don't mind my asking?"

"Their entire family was killed by Death Eaters."

Anna watched the rage swirl in Harry's eyes as he took in the information along with the waver in Amelia's tone.

"Edgar was part of a resistance against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The rest of us," she paused as her gaze moved to meet Anna's, "are survivors."

As Anna looked into Amelia's face, she found no malice. She realized these words were meant for her, to assure her that she was not held responsible for Sirius' supposed misdeeds. An understanding passed between the two women as they smiled grimly at each other.

Survivor had such a positive connotation. Anna was certainly glad to have survived the first war, glad that she was able to be there for Harry as he grew up, and ecstatic that she and Sirius had found each other again. There were some survivors, like Molly Weasley, who, although they would carry the sorrow left by the loss of loved ones, had mostly been able to carry on as usual after the passage of time. However, she also knew that Amelia was referring to a specific type of survivor. There was a hardness and weariness in her eyes that bore proof that she was one such survivor herself, as was Anna and as were Sirius and Remus. They were the walking wounded, those who would bear forever in their collective psyche the scars left by bearing witness to terrible tragedy. The weight of grief so heavy at times that it felt as though they were carrying the bodies of those lost.

Harry's voice broke the silence as he turned to her.

"He was a mem—"

He cut himself off, remembering where he was. She inclined her head slightly in answer to his question. Again, Anna found herself wondering why Amelia had chosen to share this information with Harry personally. After all, he was escorted by the founder and a member of the original Order who could easily give him the same information. It felt like a message, more than just her message to Anna, only she couldn't decipher what it was. Before she could lose her grip on her curiosity to ask, however, the door burst open.

Anna didn't know whether to laugh or vomit as she took in the Minister's appearance. Thankfully, she did neither. The lime green bowler hat was hideous, and she hoped for the sake of the rest of the wizard population that he didn't wear it out in Muggle London. The abruptness of his entrance was noted by Amelia, who it seemed was trying to affect a deferential look despite her tight-lipped annoyance at his rudeness. He strode in and plopped down in an armchair, catty-corner from Anna's seat.

Harry started and Anna looked toward the door to see why. There was a red-headed young man there, wearing horn-rimmed glasses, his arms loaded down with parchment, quill and ink. He wore a haughty expression, despite the fact that his ears were bright red. His face was familiar to Anna, although she was unsure why until her uncle spoke.

"Good morning, Cornelius, Mr. Weasley."

Begrudgingly, Fudge choked out, "Yes, yes, good morning and all that, Dumbledore," as he waved a hand impatiently as if to swat the pleasantries away.

Anna leaned toward Harry and breathed out of the corner of her mouth, "Percy?"

He stiffened in response and gave a tense nod.

Albus merely smiled at Fudge's lack of manners and responded with politeness.

"Minister, Mr. Weasley, you remember Harry Potter, and Minister, I am sure you remember my niece, Anna. Percy Weasley, this is Anna Dumbledore."

Anna stood up to shake their hands, determined not to allow Fudge's agenda to set the tone for the entire meeting. Fudge limply allowed her to shake his hand but Percy reluctantly returned her shake with a "Nice to meet you," as Anna had known he would. He had been raised by Molly, after all.

As she returned to her seat, Fudge huffed impatiently. Anna forcibly pushed her annoyance aside and locked it away as she attempted to clear her mind. She wasn't sure how this was going to go. Fudge clearly had an agenda, but she wasn't sure what it was, and that was unnerving.

A voice came to her, a memory, at the start of a battle with Death Eaters.

"_Buck up, Bird! It's time to kick some ass!"_

"_Alright, Prongs," _she thought, "_let's do this thing."_


End file.
